Happy Endings
by Traban16
Summary: So many poor unfortunate souls. It was a good thing that they all chose to beg so desperately for help. It was the only thing that Rumplestiltskin had not planned. But thankfully he could adapt. For their sake, of course.
1. So Many Deals, So Little Time… Part 1

**A/N** **: So, I've read some stories with this kind of crossover idea, and wanted to give it a try. Let me know if it's any good, will ya?** _ **Once Upon A Time**_ **is turning into one of my favorite shows this year, even though its years old now. LoL!**

 **If you have any suggestions, please let me know in a REVIEW and/or PM!**

 **Enough of this crap! On with the show!**

 **Story Summary** **: So many poor unfortunate souls. It was a good thing that they all chose to beg so desperately for help. It was the only thing that Rumplestiltskin had not planned. But thankfully he could adapt. For their sake, of course.**

 **Chapter 1: So many Deals, So Little Time… Part 01**

* * *

Lily Potter sat beside her baby boy's crib with tears shining in her emerald eyes. She'd never been delicate. She was no flower in the field despite what her name implied. But dammit, every day she lived through now felt like the walls were closing in.

Not on her.

On her little Harry.

There was all the chance in the world that neither she or James wouldn't live to see the end of the wizards' war.

No, Lily reminded herself with a shake of her head. This was not the fault of wizards, toe-rags though they were.

This was all Voldemort's responsibility! He was making this happen! His wanton need for the suffering and enslavement of all around him!

"At least war," Lily choked out as she wiped the snot from her nose with a handkerchief, "it brings out the best in the people around you. Oh, Harry… I pray you never see a day of war when you're old enough to understand. But baby, it has stopped even Severus and Sirius from hating each other. They were back-to-back yesterday. Fighting to keep the other safe. I saw it, and I knew that was what was at the heart of humanity. We might fight and argue, but when darkness comes for us, we stand and fight it together. Evil will never win. Good will always prevail, sweet pea. It's what we do."

Lily got up from her chair, gently smoothing down her toddler's messy black hair. Harry looked up at her through bleary eyes. It was late, and he was getting sleepy as children often did. She sat back down, throwing her own fiery red locks over her shoulder with a deep breath.

Damn Voldemort. Damn the prophecy. Damn it all straight to hell!

Voldemort wanted her baby. Her precious little Harry.

All because of some idiotic prophecy that Trelawney spouted out at random without even remembering. A prophecy that Lily didn't believe for a second, despite whatever impression she'd given James and Professor Dumbledore when she'd burst into tears upon being told about it.

"That vile man wants you, and he will never have you. Harry, you will live… even," Lily sobbed, the tears running down her cheeks. She placed a hand over her mouth to stay quiet. She tried to be strong. She was strong. But with each passing day hidden away under Professor Dumbledore's protection charm, Lily found herself growing fretful and hopeless. "Even if I don't get to see you lose that first tooth that kept us all up at night… Or ride a bicycle into a tree… Have your first crush… Attend Hogwarts… Get your first scolding from Professor McGonagall. Girlfriends, marriage, children of your own… Heh, h-heh… It will all be so beautiful, but I… But, I…"

"You seem to have his life all plotted out, love. That's just wrong of you." James's voice startled her into standing. Lily tried to hide her face from her husband, but he had already seen it. James came over to her, calmly turning her toward her. Her gaze met his, and Lily found herself thinking of the first time she had seen her husband as James instead of Toerag Potter. "What if he likes boys? Or adopts a kid with his wife? Or decides children aren't in his future at all? Heavens help us all if he decides he wants to be Muggle."

Lily laughed tearfully, but James only shook his head.

"Nothing wrong with that, I say." James went on as Lily retook her seat by Harry's crib. James looked down at her from beside the chair, hands resting softly upon her shoulders. "But then again, my only real look into the life of Muggles is your side of the family, so… Yeah…"

Lily snorted while wiping away her tears. "M-My sister and her husband are not prime examples of normal living. They are, in fact, the far right of the spectrum."

"Well they can stay that way, so long as they don't cause us any more headaches." James sighed, rubbing his wife's shoulders a little.

Lily looked up at the love of her life, green eyes glistening with wetness. "How can you be so calm? For the last couple of months, you've been just as casual as always. Meanwhile, I've been falling to pieces trying to stay strong for Harry, if not myself. How do you do it?"

"Me?" James flicked his gaze up to the ceiling, then back down to Harry, who was laying in his crib dispelling a yawn. "Well, I guess you could say I know everything will turn out alright. It will all be fine, I tell myself. Every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed. A good glass of Firewhiskey in the evening also helps the coping process."

Lily nodded her head in agreement, but her lips were still pursed. "But that's it? I tell myself it'll all be okay all the time…" Lily cast her gaze down to her lap where her hands rested fretfully. "Hasn't really worked great…"

"Because you are… well, _you_ , Lils." James said with a shrug. "You hope for the best, but drag yourself down with the worst. You plan for it, even. Not a bad thing, mind you, but sending Dumbledore a book on blood magic runes in case something happens to everyone you put on that list of yours? I think you work yourself up more than needed."

Lily narrowed her eyes a little. She knew James didn't mean to offend, but this was their child's future he was talking about. Any parent worth their salt should be as thorough, if not more so. "Something very well could happen to us. To Remus. To Sirius. More so to Severus and McGonagall and Slughorn—"

"And I don't disagree," James cut in, because Lily's voice had risen to a tone that said he would be spending the night on a futon if he didn't divert her war path. "But we are fighting a war here. There is going to be pain and lost and tragedy. People will die. Lives irretrievably changed for worse, no matter how small the degree. The Lovegoods had Luna snatched right out of her crib next to them in the bedroom. Arthur and Molly… little Ron was taken just last night…"

Lily gasped, and felt faint, but James's hands tightened around her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Frank and Alice are worried for Neville, and don't even get me started on the way Lucius Malfoy begged me yesterday in front of the Minister himself to hide Draco with us here before, _in his own words_ , accepting a deal _with_ _the_ _devil_ who appeared before him in a _dream_ last night. I swear… this war is making everyone crazy for all the reasons war can drive people insane."

"But our Harry—!"

James got down on bended knee in an instant, meeting Lily at eye-level with a gaze brimming with tears, but also steadfast determination.

"Lily Potter nee Evans…" he breathed her name the way he had when he proposed to her. Lily put a hand over her heart as James cupped the other between his clammy palms. He was beyond nervous, or fretful.

It was then that Lily understood why James could be so calm about it all. James was scared to death all along.

He just happened to be a better faker than she ever thought.

"I k-know I am not a perfect man. I am childish and petty. I drink from the carton. I leave my dirty clothes laying around. I hate your oldest friend with a burning passion, and not just because he has an unhealthy obsession with you." James looked back at Harry, and somehow Lily knew that he wanted her to follow his gaze. "But if there is one thing I know I did perfect in my life. One person in the entire world I want to be that perfect man for… it is Harry James Potter. Because you love me as I am. You made the conscious decision to marry me, stupidity and pranks and all."

"That I did." Lily choked out a laugh, even as she felt her tears come flowing.

"He didn't get a choice. I'm his father, and that's all Lady Fate wrote. I want—no, I need to be perfect for him. Because I will be the standard he looks up to… and a son should always stride to be better than the father…"

"Oh James…!" Lily threw her arms around her husband, getting down on her knees to the floor with him. She kissed along the right side of his face several times before he gave her a single kiss atop her forehead. They held each other close, both with a loving gaze upon the child they brought into the world. "He is all we have in this world. Not money, or status, or anything else. Not even magic, James. He is our everything."

"I know." James said, swallowing down the lump in his throat with little success. He rubbed small circles on the back of his wife's palms using his thumbs. "When he was born, and I held him in my arms for the first time, I knew it… I always knew it…"

James turned back to look at Lily, earthen brown gazing into emerald green. "Lils, I swear to you that those children will be found. Everything will be okay. I swear it, Lily Potter."

Lily shook her head. "You can't promise me that. Not every story has a happy ending, James, and you know this." She rested her head along his back, voice soft and low as she went on. "I don't care what happens to me… so long as our son is safe."

James, being the man that he was for all his adult life, choked back the cry that ripped through him. He did his best to stem the flood of tears. He clenched his fists and beat at the floor, but nothing would stop the ache in his heart or the emotions he was feeling.

This was not the life he wanted for his wife and first—perhaps now, only—child.

They were supposed to stay at Potter Manor for all their days. Have weekends in different countries to give the children some culture.

He was supposed to sneak around Lily's back and show the kids spells they wouldn't learn at Hogwarts. He was supposed to pass on the Marauders Map to Harry as well as his family's Invisibility Cloak for maximum mischief. He was meant to scare boys away from his first daughter until she was in her late twenties.

And all following daughters until they joined a nunnery.

He was meant to make his sons into honorable men, and punch them in the face if they refused to live up to snuff.

Gamble on Harry's first quidditch match, and then subtly work for years into making the boy want to turn pro with a backup plan of becoming Minister for Magic. Make his second son like Transfiguration and become a Professor.

Make his daughters join nunneries, and convents as a backup plan.

Now all of that seemed so far out of reach to him. Like sands from an hourglass slipping between his fingers.

Those fleeting dreams left only a few grains to his grand visions of the future.

James allowed himself to howl in anguish only once, the action startling Harry up from where he was falling asleep. James took a sobering deep breath as he rose to his feet, scooping baby Harry into his arms and shushing him as he began to whine. Lily mirrored him as she wiped away her tears. James did not. He wanted to feel them on his face. The last time he had cried was when his parents died in that car accident nearly two years ago. To him, this was about as painful. They were his past, James understood that. They were meant to be taken from this world before him. He always knew he'd have to stand at their funeral someday.

Not being able to see Harry's future… it felt like a deeper stab to the heart. James felt _robbed_. His parents had gotten to hold Harry many times in his first six months before they died. They had raised James, seen him become a man with a wife to keep him honest and upright.

But him? Was he to be robbed of even seeing his son off to Hogwarts on his first day?

"The truth of it all, Lils… I'm scared, too. Just as scared as you. More than you. I just hide it better because I have Sirius as a friend." James admitted as he rocked his toddle son in his arms. He turned to his wife, cheeks stained with the tears of a robbed man. "Every day we've been in here… Since meeting Dumbledore up at the castle that night he explained the prophecy and hiding to us… I never saw myself living a day beyond this war against… _him_ …"

Lily was glad her husband didn't breathe that man's chosen name in the presence of their son.

"I'm not scared for myself, though, Lils… I welcome death. I will lay my life down if it means you and Harry get to have that future I see without me included. I have not woken up a single day in this cottage without the fear that you or Harry or both of you would be taken from me, or… worse…"

"James, love…" Lily hugged her husband tight, then wrapped an arm around Harry, who reached out to hug himself to her neck.

"I don't really believe in your muggle God, but… I pray to him… and to magic… and to Merlin… and to anyone who might be listening, Lils…" James continued as Lily shut her eyes. "I pray you raise Harry to be better than me. But, that you don't suck the fun out of him like you try with me. I ask that Harry make as good of friends as I have in Sirius and Remus and Peter. I beg that he play quidditch better than the other kids, so I can watch him be specular from heaven or hell, wherever I'm meant to go. But most of all, I just pray that I not _outlive_ _him_ … Dear Merlin and Gods above, please— _please_ do not let me outlive my child a _single_ _day_! _Please_!"

"Please, any deity or saint or whatever out there… We beg of you!" Lily said up to the heavens above her as she held her family together with only her two arms and all the love in her _soul_. "We beg of you with our naked hearts! Please help us in saving our child!"

"Well, dearies," a strange voice twittered from behind the family, inside the open door of Harry's room, "All you had to do was ask!"

* * *

 **And there it is! The first chapter over and done. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to burn it with dragon fire? Leave a REVIEW and let me know!**

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 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	2. So Many Deals, So Little Time… Part 2

**A/N: So, I'm sure most of you all can tell when James is being serious and not. Also, just how much faith the man puts in magic and the like. I mean, just look at how much faith the characters of** _ **Once Upon A Time**_ **place in their magic. It's a stretch that the Potters would give up their kid while being willing to die for him, but I think it's a believable stretch with this being a crossover.**

 **Chapter 2: So Many Deals, So Little Time… Part 02**

* * *

"The truth of it all, Lils… I'm scared, too. Just as scared as you. More than you. I just hide it better because I have Sirius as a friend." James admitted as he rocked his toddle son, Harry, in his arms. He turned to his wife, cheeks stained with the tears of a robbed man. "Every day we've been in here… Since meeting Dumbledore up at the castle that night he explained the prophecy and hiding to us… I never saw myself living a day beyond this war against… _him_ …"

Lily Potter nee Evans was glad her husband didn't breathe _that_ _man's_ chosen name in the presence of their son.

"I'm not scared for myself, though, Lils… I would _welcome_ death. I _will_ lay my life down if it means you and Harry get to have that future I see without me. I have not woken up a single day in this cottage without the fear that you or Harry or _both_ _of_ _you_ would be taken from me, or… _worse_ …"

"James, oh no… Love…" Lily hugged her husband tight, then wrapped an arm around Harry, who reached out to hug himself to her neck.

"I don't really believe in any God, but… I pray to him… and to magic… and to Merlin… and to anyone who might be listening, Lils…" James continued as Lily shut her eyes. "I pray that you raise Harry to be better than me. But, that you don't suck the fun out of him like you try with me. I ask that Harry make as good of friends as I have in Sirius and Remus and Peter. I ask that he play quidditch better than the other kids, so I can watch him be specular from heaven or hell, wherever I'm meant to go. But most of all, I just pray that I not _outlive_ _him_ … Dear Merlin and Gods above, please— _please_ do not let me outlive my child a _single_ _day_! _Please_!"

Lily held her family together with only her two arms and all the love in her soul. "Please… We beg of you! We beg of you with all that is in our hearts! _Please_ help us in saving our only child!"

"Well, dearies," a strange voice chirruped from behind the family, inside the open door of Harry's room, "All you had to do was ask!"

* * *

Lily spun on the spot, her raw green eyes flashing as tears went flying one way while her wand was drawn the other. James had grabbed Harry from between them, and held his own wand in readiness to defend his family. The two fought for only a moment on who would step forward to face this stranger, and it was with a heavy heart that Lily let James push Harry into her arms and shield them with his body.

"Oh, this is quite a touch more than I was expecting, dearies. I must say, I'm rather impressed." The stranger smiled, his teeth unnaturally white, but slightly crooked. "It isn't often I happen upon True Love so pure. You'd think more parents would have that for their children."

James observed the man with everything experience had taught him in facing an unknown opponent. He appeared restless, as though electricity ran under his skin. The strange man wore a bright navy vest over a blue satin poet-style shirt, and leather pants that were tucked into knee-high boots skinned from what appeared to be a magical creature.

The unusualness of their strange guest did not end there, though.

The man had golden skin which glittered a sickly green in color skin, appearing scaly and rough to the eye and probably the touch as well. His hair was in limp ringlets of a faded, mousey, brown that was slowly going grey with hints of the same sickly green glow that tinged his skin. His eyes were large for his face, and his irises were larger still in his eyes. And though he stood with his back to the nearest light source, that being the stair's landing lamp, the man's pupils were very small.

In summary, James was more than sure this strange man was not human… At least, he hadn't been for a while…

But James felt his jaw tighten as this man was also clearly not a Death Eater. Voldemort handpicked his minions for being well-known members of society and able to hide in plain sight.

James had never seen the bloke in his whole life.

But, that one fact didn't make the guy a friend popping by for some tea, or give him permission into their cottage.

Which, by the way, was under a particularly powerful protection spell curtsey of Professor Dumbledore himself!

So how in the seven hells did this scaly-skin bastard slither through that kind of power?

"Who are you?" Lily demanded hotly before James could even open his mouth to speak. "And what the hell are you doing here?"

" _How_ are you here?" James tacked on to his wife's words, eyes glaring as his wand was aimed straight for the man's heart. A simple transfiguration spell would do the job nicely. Turning the man's heart to stone would leave them without any mess, and Harry would have a cool story to one day tell his friends.

"Ah, so we come around to introductions. Well, where I am from, I need none. But for my own amusement, I will oblige. I am… Rumplestiltskin, but _please_ , do call me Rumple." the man said with a flourishing bow. "And I came a mighty long way from home to help you with your troubles. Well, for a price."

James and Lily shared a look for only moments. The two lowered their wands in unison, but did not relax. Now James aimed for the man's leg. Something told him that turning it to peanut brittle would be very inconvenient for the guy.

"You're powerful. That much I can practically feel through the air." James said, taking a deep breath. "Not to mention you found a way past all our charms and spells. If you were here to cause us some kind of harm, you'd be fighting off having your skin boil you alive from the inside out right now. A deadly variation of an Itching Spell made by me when I was a lad."

"Sounds fun." Rumple was still smiling, though he held his hands up as if to say he was unarmed and cooperating. "Maybe we'll talk about it some other time, but you see… I was summoned here by poor unfortunate souls in desperate need during desperate times. The way I understand it, your little world is at war. I know something about that."

"You're not a wizard." Lily observed, and Rumple smiled a little less.

"You, I think I'll like less as we proceed. No one likes the child who blurts out answers." Rumple scolded, making Lily flush with embarrassment.

"But my wife is right, Mr. Rumple." James said, and Rumple wagged a finger at him.

"No, no. Just Rumple will do fine. And yes, I'm not a wizard by your standards. I do, obviously, have magic at my disposal. Plenty of it, to be precise."

"So, you came because magic carried you here on our desperate pleas…" Lily said aloud, piecing it together in her own mind. "Like some sort of genie, though I doubt you have three wishes to grant us. Otherwise you'd have ended this war for us months ago with all the desperate people begging for an end…"

"Sad to say, but it's a certain type of desperate that attracts a man like me… One born of heart, soul… and magic. You have to do more than want it. You have to be willing to pay the price for it." Rumple's smile, James observed, turned sharp and fierce.

Like that of a River Nile crocodile…

"So, tell me, dearies. What is it that you beg and dream for? And what are you willing to give me to make sure that it becomes reality?" he asked with a step forward.

James tensed, and Lily took a step back with Harry in her arms.

"All we want is for our son, Harry, to live beyond this war." Lily looked down at Harry, and was a little surprised to see that he was sound asleep. It was unusual, as this much talking in the room would normally wake him up. It was almost like… magic…

Did the man put their child to sleep? A quickly cast diagnostic spell confirmed it to her, but the magic was harmless with an effect of only a few hours before natural sleep took over.

The age of the magic though was hundreds of years old, like an ancient spell lifted from history books.

Where had this Rumplestiltskin learned such arcane magic?

And how had he cast it so effortlessly without her being aware?

"We want him to grow old, and live the rest of his days being loved and cherish like the gift from Heaven that he is!" James spat sternly, his wand shaking in his hands. "I want him to live safe and happy. Even if it's with a family that has to pick up our being literal dead weight. I'm not afraid to die. I know my wife isn't either when it comes to our Harry, so we won't make qualms about our own lives. You can be the devil, or God, or some funky wizard from the Fifth Dimension for all I care. Harry is all that matters! _He_ is our life!"

Rumple didn't look at all impressed with James crying in front of him, or the touching notion that a father should give everything for his son.

In fact, Rumple looked ashamed. But why?

"That is… lovely, and all, but can you please get to the point." Rumple motioned with a hand. His voice was no longer light and twittery, but rough and firm. He even looked serious now, his gaze square on the young couple and their child.

"You are powerful. Extremely so to be standing here. You also don't wish to cause us any harm, again evidence of you standing there still." Lily pointed out as she laid Harry in his crib. She turned back to Rumplestiltskin with a cutting glare. "You say you want to help us with… a deal, I guess you can call this. We pay a price for Harry's ensured safety. Insured by one as powerful as you. Insured _by_ you personally."

"That is correct, Madam." Rumple nodded before rubbing his hands together. "So? What will it be?"

They didn't even need to look at each other this time. Magic was powerful, and this man was more powerful than Dumbledore. The added protection was all they could dream of getting to know without a doubt that Harry lived to see Hogwarts.

It was their best chance.

"He grows up to be a gentleman. I don't want my baby boy mistreating women. I'll come from heaven myself to knock his teeth in if he grows up to be a toerag." Lily started without preamble.

"That is something entirely open to interpretation and very subjective, dearie. But, I'll let you have your day in court. Continue." Rumple waved a hand dismissively.

"I want him to be smart and cultured. We were supposed to make the kids worldly and moral." James spoke up, dropping his wand arm to his side as he began to pace the floor. "He will one day, upon his first day of Hogwarts, in fact, inherit the title of Lord to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. That title comes with a lot of power. He needs to be prepared for such, because every other child of nobility that survives this war will be. My father would roll over in his grave if my son did something to besmirch the family name. We are good people. Not spoiled rotten."

"He'll be a regular prince then," Rumple promised with a fanciful bow and roll of his eyes. "But I'll need some material on your family's history to see exactly what type of men do mighty acorns grow."

"I'll prepare it tonight." James assured instantly.

"He can't be a bully," Lily threw in, a sharp look at James as he began to protest. "Harry also can't think the world is split in black and white. It is right and wrong I want him to understand without fault."

"So glad you said so, Madam." Rumple's smile again turned sharp and crocodile-like. Lily's mouth formed a thin white line. "But so far, you've produced quite the tall order, dearies. Your child would need… very special care for what you're asking."

"We aren't asking, Mr. Rumple." James said, looking the man square in the eye. "We are begging. We lay ourselves bare for the security of our son's future. He is our entire world. Have you a child of your own?"

"…A time ago, yes…" Rumple said with a far-off look in his eyes.

"Then you'll understand if we tell you that we're not nearly done." Lily informed him. "Harry should take up an art. Music, painting, song… I guess it really doesn't matter. It should be good for him. Something he'll enjoy when it seems all the world is against him. It should be a beauty in his life that those around him discover only after he has revealed it to them. Something his girlfriends have to see to believe is true of his soul."

"And if it turns out my son likes boys… well, he'll have my good looks, if nothing else." James shrugged, a smirk on his lips even as Lily whacked him over the head with a conjured magazine.

Rumple smiled at their antics, but then spoke. "You do understand… The granting of such a deal will not be cheap even by the barest margins."

"We fear no price." Lily and James stated with a fierce determination in their voice, echoing each other's words through their one combined soul.

"Besides, names have power and purpose." James shrugged again, "If you're anything like the Rumpelstiltskin from our legends and the Muggles' children book, then I doubt you're interested in monetary compensation. No, you want something else as payment, and I'm sure that my family's ancestral vault can provide it in spades."

"I've heard that a time or two before… and always I've been surprised with how impressed I am later." Rumple retorted, his sharp smile appearing for only a second before he frowned. "But, you do realize that your lives are forfeit, right? I mean, you are going to die. And that… Wait! Let me guess! You don't carry so long as your precious son is going on to better things than being an unloved street rat?"

"Much better things than so. Of that, you will assure, Mr. Rumple." Lily said with a sharp smile of her own and an emerald glare full of heat. Rumple only nodded, not at all intimidated by a look that would have average witches and wizards quivering in their robes.

"And Harry has to go to Hogwarts!" James blurted out, receiving a dull look from Rumple and a sharp one from Lily. "Sorry, I just didn't know if you got how important it is to us. This school is where Lily and I first met, dated, and were even married on its steps."

"You've mentioned it a fair few times. I suspected you'd put that little nugget in writing." Rumple drawled dryly with a lackluster whirl of his hand.

"So, umm… why don't you just tell us what it is you want from us in exchange for Harry's secured future." James said, stepping back so he appeared in union with his wife, side-by-side.

Rumple struck a thoughtfully pose, pacing the floor a little as he hummed to himself and stroked his chin liberally. Lily noticed that his steps were grace and more than a little unnatural with the way he seemed to float instead of walk. There was something there, but it was out of reach for her mind to work out. Whatever it was, Lily was sure it was an issue from either hip to toe that was being solved heavily with magic.

"An ancient and noble house, you say?" Rumple looked up from his pacing toward the couple. "Interesting, very interesting dearies… There was another of such standing. Blonde and very much full of himself. He had a contract of his own waiting. Heh, heh! Oh, how I loved the look on his face when I burned it on sight."

James cursed under his breath, but Lily went pale with the implications that Lucius Malfoy had honestly been telling the truth for once in his life.

And the implication that perhaps the missing children weren't really " _missing_ " after all…

"Knowledge is very useful to a man like me. Every bit I get brings me closer to my goal." Rumple was rubbing his hands together in earnest now.

"What is that? Your goal, I mean. What is it a man of your power could possibly want?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A way into this world for a more… extended stay, so to speak." Rumple replied, and James nodded while Lily felt faint. This man was actually of another realm. When dealing with magic she always said anything was possible, but… "I can only cross the realms when the Deal is particularly strong. _Desperately_ strong. This world has pockets of magic, but… The magic and the pockets aren't what I need. What I need is none of your concern, but what you can exchange for your child, raised as you desire, now that would be just dandy!"

"If knowledge is what you seek, then my family's vault will have it in spades. Anything in particular I should have forefront?" James put forth, but Rumple was not so easy to take the bait.

"Don't you worry, dearie. I'll have plenty of time on hand later, well after the two of you are dead and buried." Rumple waved dismissively again before smiling with all teeth. "Now, the deal is set. Your child protected and cared for the moment your two lives cease to exist in exchange for all the material knowledge your family does possess. I'll even give the little tyke access to it when he's old enough as a gift since the two of you won't live long enough for proper good-byes with a toddler. Be sure to put your final thoughts and wills into writing."

"We will." Lily said, speaking for herself and her husband as he nodded in agreement.

"Good. I'll also take possession of every… Let's say, every magical object and potion inside the aforementioned vault. These will be nonrefundable to your son."

"…That sounds fine with me." James said after a little hesitation, squeezing his wife's hand when she made to say something.

"What if we survive? Or one of us does?" Lily inquired, making Rumple smile sharply once again.

"But dear madam… you won't survive!" He squeaked, and seemed to take pleasure in saying so. "But! If by chance you both live, no deal will be acted upon. If only one of you survives, I will take the knowledge and return it upon young Henry's first day of Higwith."

"His name is Harry James Potter and the school is named Hogwarts." James corrected casually, but Rumple shrugged.

"I'm sure it'll be printed somewhere on the contract I'm going to draw up. After all, names have power and purpose." The grin on his face was less than friendly, but still mild compared to the crocodile look. "Like we've been discussing, little Harry Potter will be a happy child. He will be groomed to become a man that others shall aspire to emulate, as per your specifications. He will be placed with a woman that will love him as deeply as the two of you combined."

"A single woman?" Lily echoed in some confusion.

"That's a pretty tall order to put on the shoulders of one woman, don't you think?" James said with his brows up to his hairline, a look of concern on his face.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry much about that, dearies." Rumple's smile his time was not sharp or mocking, but itself coy. "She could rival me at my best, and would guard the lad as fierce as any dragon."

"Just so long as our baby is loved." Lily whispered loud enough for both men to hear.

"Now then," Rumplestiltskin offered a golden scaly hand between James and Lily, "Do we have a deal?"

* * *

 **Now then... did you like that? Hated it? Loved it? Want it to prick its finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die? Leave a REVIEW and let me know!**

 **Any ideas, comments, or concerns, please let me know!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	3. Got A Good Discount

**A/N: Can I just say that this story VERY nearly had a completely different beginning. I almost had HAGRID sit down with Rumple and work out a deal in a pub. It almost happened. He was going to stop for a drink to settle his nerves and meet Rumple. The two would work out a deal for Rumple to take Harry because Hagrid didn't trust "Them foul muggles, worst of their lot" to raise Harry properly. He would have been clumsy about it, but it would have still been the same kind of deal: Harry is safe, spirited away, and raised to be a good man. "Somethin' like me father," Hagrid would have said.**

 **Almost did it, but I thought having James and Lily willingly give anything _and everything_ to see to it that Harry made it out of the war was a touch more emotional and rewarding.**

 **Oh well, just thought I'd put it out there as to how this story almost had Hagrid as the hero behind the scenes.**

 **Chapter 3: Got A Good Discount**

* * *

Rumplestiltskin made a disgusted sound at the back of his throat. Those two had been such an interesting couple. Together in more than the martial sense. They had… _fire_! Staring out into the wreckage that had once been a lovely cottage, Rumple sighed into the crisp night air. Whatever their problem in the war they fought, it looked like James and Lily Potter had gone down fighting to the bitter end. He could appreciate that.

Rumple struggled to dreg up the magic he wanted at the moment, his knuckles cracking as a funeral bouquet of black roses and white lilies materialized in his hands. His magic was very limited in this land, especially where it didn't concern the Deal as part of why he called upon magic. It was like trying to catch smoke using only embers from a once raging fire.

"Still… I can manage to pay my respects. Just this once, dearies." Rumplestiltskin grinned as he laid the flowers in front of the ruined cottage. "Just two parents fighting to the very end for their child. It deserves more than respect, but there is still the matter of collecting my payment and collecting the child."

Seeing his breath in the cold air, Rumple turned away from the cottage since the Deal was still very much alive. It was pulling him elsewhere, far from the place he had been pulled initially.

"Meaning that someone has taken the little lad in the time it took for me to cross realms." Rumple figured out as he rubbed his hands together. The last time he had been in this land, there had been more magic, but it seemed the magic of the land was draining or slumbering. "Oh, naughty, naughty! They'll be a snail before they know it when meddling in my business. Better get there before someone does something too stupid to fix."

With that, Rumple twisted his hand in front of him, and a whirl of purple smoke was his disappearing act as he teleported from the cottage to as close to the Deal's pull as possible with his limited magic.

Rumple felt his landing before his feet even touched the ground. With narrowed eyes, the Dark one made his way through what could only be described by him as a village of magical duplicated houses. There was simply no way in any realm or land all the homes of this town could be so… alike. With their neatly trimmed lawns and identical motor vehicles. It was ridiculous.

"And this is probably the place my Bae ended up." Rumple shook his head, "He doesn't deserve this. All these people are probably snotty and nosy, to boot! Bunch of horse-faced sows, I bet."

Though he stumbled upon an entirely different level of disgust when he discovered exactly where the child was when found.

On a doorstep.

A doorstep!

 _IN THE MIDDLE OF AUTUMN_!

There was ice on the ground and frost nipping at the edges of windows, and some small-minded fool had the utter brainlessness to put a child on the doorstep with nothing more than a thin blanket and a note.

"No wonder the people I've made deals with in this world were so quick to trust me… They must have been the only smart ones left in their land. Well, when the idiots are the masses a revolt is normally how the smart get overthrown."

As he went to pick the child up, however, Rumplestiltskin was surprised to find warmth radiating from the baby's blanket.

"Magic," Rumple cackled as he scooped up the child into his arms. "An interesting choice, but still a dumb one. Should have just popped the boy into the house rather than leave him for anyone to find. What if that ridiculous Apprentice had been here! Careless!"

Rumplestiltskin cradled the child in his arms. Tiny little Harry Potter.

"Getting you to the age of a man will be trouble, I can see it." Rumple said as he rocked the baby in his arms Harry was sound asleep, and Rumple suspected magic was at work for that as well. "But if it makes me even one step closer to finding my own child, then I'll see to it that you outlive even me, dearie. Now then, let's get you out of my terrible hands and into the embrace of one who could use a little bundle of joy in her life."

And with that said, the Dark One vanished from the Land Without Magic in a whirl of purple smoke, back to his own realm of the Enchanted Forest.

* * *

Maleficent was in a foul mood. She stalked the halls of her dark castle like a lioness on the hunt. It was unnecessary. No one dared to challenge her these days. No one wanted to, anyway. She was a joke. A laughing stock among the ranks of villainy.

A disgrace to the forces of darkness…

All because of that little weed, Briar Rose! King Stephan would pay for waking the girl if Maleficent could only think of something more heart-wrenching than eternal slumber. Killing someone was all too easy. A simple snap of the neck could do that. But death was too good for those fools! The Mistress of All Evil wanted them to suffer agony not yet imagined!

"And I cannot even imagine it! Argh!" Maleficent was in such a rage that a wave of heat scorched the corridor in all directions.

Her dark castle which had once been in pristine condition from the work of tireless servants and maids that served her for fear of death rather than actual pay was now beginning to resemble a burnt-out husk of its former glory. Entire towers of her forbidden fortress were blackened to a crisp. Hand-crafted furniture was in ashes. Paintings made by amazing artists were in flames. Gold and jewels were now melted from her absolute fury of being bested by those two… wretched fools!

But she was starting to feel it. Her anger which had months ago burned like the sun was beginning to whither. It was being replaced by only despair and sadness.

King Stephen had ridden to her land tell her personally that he had broken her curse. That she would never again bring harm to Briar Rose.

The army behind him had led credence to that.

In that moment, Maleficent hadn't even turned into her dragon form to unleash the pinnacle of her rage. It had burned so hotly in her that she simply opened her mouth and roared out fire which boiled the earth beneath the army's feet. The horses fled in fear as trees were turned to cinder. King Stephan was hauled away shouting at her. Those unfortunate enough to be too slow were broiled inside their armor or burned alive in the path of her righteous anger.

But now… Now all Maleficent seemed to have left in her was a heat wave or two.

And it was beyond pitiful.

"Well now, dearie." That voice gave Maleficent pause as she turned slowly to its source. "I was expecting a little fire and brimstone after I heard you got beat by the unluckiest rose in the garden patch, but this is just a bit too warm for my tastes."

Rumplestiltskin banished the sweltering heat she had been radiating in a gust of cold air. It left Maleficent feeling empty and alone. Her anger was all she had left.

But luckily for her, there was a new target for that anger right in front of her.

" _You_." She spat out with a snarl. Maleficent didn't even bother with her staff since it was nowhere near her. She simply cut her hand across the air, and a circle of dark red flames entrapped Rumple faster than he could blink. "How dare you show your face here, Rumplestiltskin!"

"I'll admit that our last entanglements were… less than ideal, Maleficent. But, would you really hurt little old me? Even while I am with child?" Rumple gave a smile while battling his eyelashes at her, even as a baby's cries rang out. Maleficent narrowed her eyes at him.

The crying was getting louder.

"I don't believe that for a second." She snapped back at him. She raised her hand. "Prepare to die."

Rumple only smiled at her, but the crying was not stopping and only seemed to be getting worse. Maleficent hesitated, her hand still raised to clench into a fist. That would make the flames rise and attack Rumplestiltskin, and then he would be a thorn in her side no longer.

But what was with that crying?

"Ugh!" she banished the flames and her anger.

She was now more annoyed than anything. The crying still wouldn't stop, and that was when she noticed that Rumplestiltskin had a bundle of blankets in his arms.

"What in the name of Diablo is that?" Maleficent asked as she stalked up to him.

"A precious baby boy you nearly flame-broiled." He replied with a superior smirk.

Maleficent berated herself as when she looked into the blankets she let out a gasp and flinched back. It was just a child. True, she had never killed or harmed a child, but it was well within her abilities to do. Children just weren't a problem for her. Unlike some of her other villainous acquaintances.

"Rumple, darling." Her eyes landed on his smug expression in a critical manner. "Where did you get this baby? _How_ did you get this baby? _Who_ _is_ _this_ _baby_?!"

Rumple clicked his tongue and wagged a finger in front Maleficent's face. "Now, now, dearie. One moment you want him as barbeque, the next you want to know everything about him. Ah, you women and your moods."

"Don't play coy with me, Rumple." Maleficent pulled back the blankets to see a crown of raven hair and a fresh scar off-center of the boy's forehead that still looked to be healing. "This boy has great power. I can practically smell it wafting off him, as I'm sure you can. So why bring him here?"

Rumple tilted his head this way and that, but the smile on his face was still laughing and mirthful. "Oh, he's nothing to do with me really. Just a little… package, if you will. Ya see, _he_ is the deal."

Maleficent looked up from the child to give Rumplestiltskin a dour glare. "Not that I'm one to talk, but I thought you had… _scruples_ about dealing in children."

"Oh, I still do, missy, but this isn't the same thing." Rumple handed the baby over to her as casually as one gave a sack of potatoes. "Lovely couple, the parents were. Looked real nice together. Shame they up and died on the dear little lad. Oh well, not the point."

Maleficent was quite sure that was a rather _important_ point in the story, but she didn't interrupt.

"All that matters now is the fact that before they died, there was a little agreement we came to about this little tyke. For the simple price of all their magical and mundane knowledge, they expected their son cared for by someone who loves fiercely and protects… well, _violently_. And that, my dear, is where you come into the picture."

"I think not." She stood to full height with a sneer, easily taller than the Dark One.

But still, there was a twinge in her heart at the thought of a child in her gloomy castle. A spark of something she had not felt in a very long time. Briar Rose and King Stephen had set to see her alone, depressed and defeated. But perhaps this was exactly the vengeance she had been searching for all along.

A child of her own. One to raise and sculpt in her own dark image. Finally, there would be someone she could pass on all her most guarded magic and wisdom. An heir to all her unholy power.

Perhaps even, _that_ _power_ she thought she'd never teach another living being.

Never the less, even as all these thoughts went through her head, Maleficent kept the smile from showing. While she plotted and schemed in her own mind on how best to turn this beautiful baby boy into her heir of unspeakable dark power, the Mistress of All Evil gave the Dark One a frigid glare. He knew she would accept his stupid deal. It was the reason he could have made it in the first place. Yet, she refused to make things easy for him. He'd have to work at convincing her this was better than at first glance.

"Children don't do well with me." She finally gave a sharp little smirk. "Not to mention the fact that I don't exactly play nice with others."

"Ah! But that's exactly the point!" Rumple pointed a finger up to the ceiling in dramatic fashion. "As you've already sensed it for yourself, the boy has exceptional power. Untapped, but ripe for harvest in the years to come. Thing of him as more of an investment than a son, if you want. Imagine it, Maleficent! A child to inherit all your terrible power. Someone you can mold into the perfect scion. A loyal member of your kingdom that would do anything to please the only family he's ever known."

"Hmm, not buying it, Rumple." Maleficent pursed her lips, giving her back to Rumple as she began to slowly mill around in thought. "What if the boy betrays me? Uses my own powers against me?"

"Well, you'd have to give the child reason to." Rumplestiltskin shrugged with baby Harry in his arms. "In my experience, children only betray that which has given them reason to doubt. Don't roast the poor boy, and I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"Okay, but what if he goes seeking his birth place?" Maleficent saw Rumple smirk at this, and figured he came prepared for a tough sell.

"Oh, there is a little snag you might need to know about."

She gave him a look that spoke volumes of how minor she really thought his next words were about to be.

"The boy will be returning to his homeland for a bit of education. The birth parents insisted that he go, as they had gone before him and fallen in love there." Rumplestiltskin stuck his tongue out as the thought of love sicken him.

"Sounds like a deal breaker to me, Rumple. Go peddle your boy somewhere else." Maleficent dismissed him with a gesture. She began to walk away, and right on cue as she expected, Rumplestiltskin appeared in front of her with a manic grin on his face. She scowled at him for show, but was also thinking a little on why he never changed his appearance from that oily green-gold skin when he was one of the most powerful users of magic in all the land. "You don't have anyone else to peddle to, do you?"

"You're wrong, but you are _oh so right_." Rumple giggled crazily as he forced the child into her arms. "You are going to take little Harry Potter here and raise him to be a man without equal. And in return, I shall owe you a single favor."

Now her indignation with him was real. "I don't need favors from you, imp."

This only made him giggle more as he did a little dance in front of her. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But my eyes see much further than yours ever could, dearie. There is a darkness on the horizon. In about… _ten years' time_ … there will be such a curse that rips the very land apart. And you will not survive it unless you have _that_ boy."

Maleficent scoffed at the Dark One, but she did look down at the sleeping baby boy. He yawned cutely in her arms, and she felt that spark of real warmth in her dark heart. Already they were forming a bond.

"I highly doubt there is any curse in all the lands that could do me in. I am immortal, just like you."

"Yes, yes! But we only stay so as long as magic exists. Am I correct?" Rumple threw out his arms toward her for an answer, and Maleficent was brought up short by his query.

As long as magic existed? What nonsense was he on about now?

"Rumple," she glowered at him, finally taking him and their conversation seriously. "Are you trying to tell me that there is a curse in existence that can strip the magic from the land?"

"Not only that, dearie." He gave her a toothy grin that made her the littlest bit uncomfortable, "But it can and will do far worst when it is cast. But you'll see it for yourself some time in the future. For it is you who will be its final guardian."

"Now I know you've gone crazy." Maleficent stepped pass the impish man with baby in tow. "I'd destroy such a thing before guarding it. Anything that dares challenge my power—"

"Ends up asleep for seven years before being awoken by True Love's kiss." Rumple finished nastily, making Maleficent whip around on her heels to glare hotly at him.

"I was casting darker magic than that petty Sleeping curse before you were alive, imp!" she snarled, and even the Dark One knew to back away some from her when she was truly fired up. "I've seen Dark Ones come and go, Rumplestiltskin, so simply because you've lasted the longest at the job doesn't mean you're beyond my power! Next time you dare to mock me, you better be twice as strong as you are now."

The shine Rumplestiltskin's eyes took on was unmistakable. "Oh, don't you worry dearie. I'll be sure of it. Ten years is a long time, after all."

If she had been a lesser woman or sorceress, then perhaps Maleficent would have been worried by his claim.

Too bad for the Dark One, he had just handed her the perfect weapon to use against him should he ever truly step up to the challenge.

Maleficent returned her gaze down to the young child, Harry Potter. Such an odd and unremarkable name. She supposed that it would be disrespectful to change it since Rumple hadn't offered that up as incentive to keep the boy. Then again, a dark curse that would steal all the world's magic had to be incentive enough for people like him and her.

"I cannot believe you had an actual child with you this time." She sighed as she began rocking the child in her arms.

Rumple shrugged casually. "Nor can I, dearie. Swore it was a dead swan."

Maleficent gave him an odd look, but he dismissed it with another shrug.

"I guess you'll just get that reference later in life."

"Any particular cares I should be aware of?" Maleficent asked, finally showing that she was receptive of his deal. "He's not going to turn into a werewolf if I feed him after midnight, right?"

"No, nothing of the sort." Rumple was smiling now, a little pep in his step as he directed Maleficent through her own castle. "You just have to raise Harry Potter as though he were your own flesh and blood baby boy. He must not be spoiled, but instead treated fairly. He must grow to be kind and smart, but also moral and just."

"I suppose the magic will stir that course more than my parenting skills." Maleficent sighed, but then a thought came to mind as she smirked. "Yet, good and evil are concepts. Darkness is no less moral or just than light. All of that is in what the person believes in their heart. Oh, I am going to have fun for some time to come."

"I thought you would." Rumple was rubbing his hands together as though it would magically turn little Harry Potter into a great villain right then and there. "I'll have a copy of the contract sent to your lovely castle in the morning. Shame I couldn't raise the little tyke myself. Too many sour memories to go reliving."

"You had a child? Or perhaps children?" Maleficent was honestly surprised. She had never taken Rumplestiltskin as the fatherly-type. "I will take a wild guess and say this was before you were the Dark One."

"And some time into being said Dark One, aye." Rumple nodded, his animated movements and songly speech patterns becoming more morose and weary. "But children don't exactly do well with me… And I never did exactly play well with others…"

Maleficent put a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. She didn't even want to think about what he was implying just then, but it obviously hadn't end well for the child seeing as they weren't around anymore. She might have been Mistress of All Evil, but never in her life had see harmed an innocent child.

Briar Rose had it coming, after all…

"Ah well!" Rumple was back to grinning up at her like a loon. "I'm very much over that nonsense! After all, there is only so much you can get done with kids hanging around."

Instead of pressing further for information she didn't particularly care to have on such a touchy subject, or pointing out that he was saddling her with something he just alluded to be a hindrance, Maleficent set about snapping her fingers. From down the corridor, her staff came racing to her open palm. On the wall next to her a fire broke out that seemed to burn through the wall until a set of stairs was formed. Still smoking and sweltering, Maleficent ascended the burning staircase with Rumplestiltskin hot on her heels.

A tower had been carved out for the new little one in her life.

True, she'd have to have it furnished and decorated, but that could all be handled in the coming days.

Maleficent stood at the landing of the staircase, whishing her staff in this and that direction as the stones morphed to fit her imagination. Rooms were carved out to be fit for a prince. In the center landing a fire pit dug itself with smoke holes in the ceiling to let the air out and in.

As she thought of it, the castle changed to see her vision come to fruition.

"Well," Rumple clapped his hands together. "I can see you've got things covered and in good hands. I'll just see myself out, dearie."

"One question before you go, Rumple." She spoke without turning from her work. "Did you even think of someone else if I had actually turned you down?"

"Not at all, dearie!" he played the part of a madman well. "But it is such a relief that everyone seems to be in a mood for child-rearing these past few days. I've been quite lucky that everybody's so willing to open their hearts and homes to such poor unfortunate souls in pain and need."

That caught Maleficent's attention. "What did you just say?"

Rumple gave her a sharp smirk. "Oh, did you think you were the only one, dearie? Oh no. Everybody's doing it these days. After all, _I'm_ where babies come from."

Maleficent gave him a disgusted look, especially after he waggled his eyebrows at her, but he only laughed at her expression.

"No matter," she turned away from the Dark One and stopped morphing her castle for the time being. "How hard can being a mother truly be?"

Rumple shook his head. "Oh, you've no idea, dearie… No idea, at all…"

He clapped his hands together again for a final time. "Well! You've got about ten years before the darkest curse in all the lands hit, so use the motherly time wisely, dearie!"

And with that as well as a gleeful little laugh, Rumplestiltskin vanished from her castle in a whirl of purple smoke.

"Hmm, I'll worry about that later." Maleficent said, finally smiling down at the baby in her arms. She waved her staff over him, and undid the sleeping sleep he was under so he would dream as he slumbered. "Now then, lets get you to an actual bed. And when you wake up, you're going to meet your new mother for the first time. Then you and I will spend the whole day getting this dreary place back in working order by terrorizing peasant folk into serving me again."

"Not to mention," Maleficent scowled a little as she went to her bed chambers and conjured a crib for the night. Magical made furniture never lasted long and she preferred having the finer things in life for herself crafted by others who did pain-staking work. Her newfound son would have nothing less as well. "You might learn all I know of darkness, sweetie, but heaven forbid I leave you powerless against what I think that imp was just talking about concerning dark curses. If he's taking about _the_ Dark Curse, then let's just see if your new momma can't cook up a little darkness of her own with you over the years, huh?"

With that, Maleficent laid baby Harry in the crib for the night, and went to bed with the embers of a new fire burning in her chest.

Embers born not of sweet vengeance, but from her new dark legacy sleeping within arm's reach.

* * *

 **There we have it! Little baby Harry Potter is now in the questionable hands of the Mistress of All Evil. How will Harry grow up? How will these children from another world effect the Enchanted Forest? What is Rumple scheming with all this?**

 **And can I just say, I used a coin toss to decide between Maleficent as Harry's mother, and Hades as his father. Kind of glad Maleficent won the coin toss because I already have Hades as Harry's father in my Percy Jackson crossover story. Hmm, I should get back to that one... Food for thought later.**

 **Please feel free to leave a REVIEW to let me know what you think! Any ideas, questions, comments, or concerns are welcome!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	4. Fashionable Discount, Darling

**I love this chapter, but I had such a difficult time writing it. Cruella de Vil is one of my favorite villains in Once Upon A Time. I really liked the way they did her character. Stylish, sassy, and downright bad to her black heart.**

 **Chapter 4: Fashionable Discount, Darling**

* * *

At a time, half past seven in the evening, Madeline De Vil opened her front door.

The person had knocked three times, and she felt compelled to see who it was even though she was not expecting guests at this hour. Madeline put down the cannister of foul yellow liquid she was about to carry up to the attic, and hustled to the door before the unknown visitor made to leave, thinking no one was home.

She had been expecting to see maybe a salesman or gentleman caller.

Never did she think there would be a man standing there with garish gold skin and a baby sleeping in his arms.

"Ah! Maddie! Good to see you, dearie!" the man exclaimed, bustling past her into her home.

"Excuse yourself, dear sir! You are trespassing in my home!" she retorted, and made to stand in his way.

"Oh, it's all okay." The man waved her off without concern, turning his attention to the attic entrance he was below. "Ya see, because I don't particularly care about you, dearie. It's actually your daughter I'm here to see."

"My daughter? How could you possibly know of my daughter?" Madeline's eyes were bulging, and her hands went shaky.

"Of course, I know your daughter, Maddie!" the man looked at her as if she were hard of hearing or just plain stupid. "This is her baby, after all!"

"Her baby! Why I don't believe! What utter nonsense! How—How _dare_ _you_ , sir!" Madeline was about to command her dogs to her side, and have this man torn to pieces while she dialed the police.

But then he waved a hand in front her face, and all she knew was the heaviness of her own eyelids and the soft darkness that overtook her senses.

Madeline collapsed at Rumplestiltskin's feet, sound asleep and without another protest on her lips.

"That actually took longer than I thought possible…" Rumple said to himself with a shake of his head. "Maybe I'm getting to be rusty or going soft… Nah!"

With his free hand, Rumple made a yanking motion at the attic entrance, which ripped the bolted attic right open. He twisted the hand in the same motion, creating a whirl of purple smoke that crafted stairs up into the darkness of the attic.

Just beyond the attic landing a shadow hung back in darkness. Rumple could see it though, and he smiled up into that darkness where the shadow stood.

"You might as well step out into the light now, dearie. Especially with Mama dearest falling asleep on me so suddenly. A shame really that she didn't even get a good look at her new grandchild."

The voice that answered him back was less harsh than he expected. It was feather soft and more than a little skittish. But the biggest surprise came when he actually saw who that voice belonged to.

Bright yellow hair was the first thing to catch his attention. It actually made him do a double take and blink a few times before settling down. For a few seconds he thought he might have been wrong, as shocking as that was to believe. Him, the Dark One, having any doubt in his skills? His magic? But it was true. He thought to himself, maybe the magic had been off on this one. Perhaps, even, taken him to the place Cruella would be born instead of where she already lived.

But then he saw the eyes. Not the right eyes either, mind you. Deep blue beauties that looked all the world like crystal pools in which a mortal man might swim in for days without daring to look away.

But he smirked when those sheepish eyes looked upon him and met his own. He saw that which mortal men might not see, or even that which they might ignore.

He saw her soul.

And it was just as inky black as he knew it from his visions. The darkness of her essence was unmistakable. Her look of innocence was betrayed by this. Even as she shied away from him and looked with wide eyes at his magically crafted staircase, he could practically smell the sins of her soul in the air. She tested the stairs with a foot, then cautiously put her weight on them before coming down to stand in front of him. The girl was shorter than he expected. Still taller than him by a head, but that was smaller than he thought she'd be when they first met. And thinner, too. The girl was like a reed in the wind with her petite frame. Though at least she appeared to have style. Even if her clothes weren't in the best condition, Rumple could see that she took care to appear nice had any given moment. Her skin and nails were very health. As were her eyebrows, which didn't appear to be drawn on her face at this point in time.

Yes, the girl standing in front of Rumplestiltskin wasn't the Cruella de Vil he had been expecting, but she was certainly Cruella de Vil none the less.

"Hello there, dearie!" Rumple gave a flourishing bow at his waist, being sure not to disturb the baby in his arms too much even though the child was under a small sleeping spell. "The name is Rumplestiltskin, and Ma Chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that I present before you tonight… your very own bundle of joy. A bouncing baby boy! Enjoy!"

While the girl was gaping at him with wide eyes and open mouth, Rumple giggled manically to himself a little. He slipped the baby into her arms, turned on heel and was about to walk right out of the house.

That is, until a pull of his magic stopped him. He turned back around, and was both a little shocked and a bit amused that Cruella's previous expressions of naivety and surprise were cleared away from her face like someone taking off a festival mask. Now her face resembled what his visions showed him. A woman poised to kill with detached interest as her arms were empty and the baby bundle was floating magically a couple of feet above the floor where she tried to nonchalantly drop the kid. Cruella's arms were crossed over her chest, hip pivoted to one side as she sneered at him like he was wasting her time.

"You must be joking," Cruella spat at him snidely, only glancing down once at the baby to see it floating back up in front of her.

She pushed the magically airborne child aside as she went to the living room where her mother was sound asleep being levitated to the couch. Cruella didn't even appear to care about her mother's wellbeing. The young woman only scoffed once at her sleeping mother before rifling through her purse where she took out a few paper bills of money and stuffed them into her own pocket.

So she likes money, Rumplestiltskin purred to himself in thought as he smirked viciously behind the girl. Good, he had plenty of gold and such. He really should have known, given what she would one day become.

"Thank you, stranger, for freeing me of that ghastly attic. I've been ever so fretful since my poor ill mother locked me away up there." Cruella said, parroting a nervous and hopeful woman perfectly.

"Yeah… that might have gone over a lot better for you dearie," Rumple began as the child floated again in front of Cruella, this time orbiting around her, _"if_ you had done that song and dance before you chose to drop the baby. Seems your fresh to villainy, but me thinks not so fresh by the stench of you."

"Stench?" Cruella seemed more outraged by being thought of as stinky than as evil. "I'll have you know that I bath regularly you garish little toad!"

"Well, your hygiene notwithstanding, you are still a terrible liar. Though you've never had to do it much anyway, am I right?" Rumple smiled maliciously as wisps of purple smoke gathered in his open hand to form a little black book. This book he used whenever a visions struck him at random, but was reserved only for important pawns—urh, _people_ that he would encounter in his life. He licked his thumb as he flipped through to the notes he wrote about her. Sometimes visions blurred together, but luckily with his affinity for magic he was always ready to jot down whatever passed his mind's eye. "Says that your mother does all your lying for you. And that you've been through two fathers so far. Tsk, tsk. Naughty, naughty young lady. This simply won't do at all. Seems to me that a child is exactly what you need to drive that wild strike… a mile higher! Heh, heh, ha, ha! Ha, ha! Ha, ha!"

Cruella gave him a rather sour look, rising her nose in the air as if he were something foul. "Listen to me, you unsightly little peon. I will have no part of your odd baby-exchanges! I don't care what those rag papers in town say about a woman being barefoot and pregnant by age twenty. I don't want children, and certainly don't need them. Now, out of my way, darling."

Cruella made to move past Rumple and bump shoulders with him, but he snapped his fingers once and she found her feet rooted to the spot instantly. She tried to move, but with another snap of his fingers she was floating just as effortlessly as the baby next to her. Rumple made a disappointed sound at the back of his throat before wagging a finger at her.

"No, no, dearie. You see, I don't much care what you want. You will do what I need of you before I leave here." He then began to walk outside the house, and Cruella was forced to follow along with the sleeping baby as they stepped outside and into the road which lead up to the De Vil's secluded manor well out of town. "Besides, young lady. If you play your cards right, you just might get a gift from yours truly out of it for your troubles."

Cruella was glaring at Rumplestiltskin now, no longer even vaguely interested in what he had to say. "I'm quite afraid that you've caught me at a bad time. You see…" and just like that Cruella whipped out a gun that Rumple was surprised the girl even had hidden on her, "I don't much like older men. Or golden-skinned freaks like you. And I especially hate being told what to do by anyone. So you either put me down and peddle your baby off on someone else, or die here as I play the part of the terrified girl defending herself when the police come to find your corpse the next day."

Rumple couldn't help it. He laughed. Long and hard with tears welling in his eyes. He doubled over, wheezing. He slapped his knees and hopped around several times. He was uncontrollable in his amusement. "Oh, oh, oh! Heh, heh, heh! HA! Ha, ha, ha! Oh my stars, this is too rich! This is just priceless! The girl doesn't even bat an eyelash at magic or me pawning off a baby, but heavens forbid if it messes with her cushy life in her attic! Heh, heh! Ha, ha, aha!"

The young blonde was now absolutely livid. So mad was she that Cruella was visibly shaking as she tried to wrestle herself from Rumple's magical grip and shoot him where he stood for mocking her.

"Oh please, dearie. As if you'd actually shoot me!" Rumple threw sharply at her, finally gaining control of himself as he wiped away his tears. "That'd be entirely too messy to explain. Especially with the baby here and everything. Not at all like doing away with Papa bear and Daddy dearest, aye. Now those were clean kills, dearie. A little poison here, a small accident there. No one thought little Cruella could ever do such a thing. Had to be accidents, right?"

Cruella went unearthly still then. Her blue eyes were narrowed fiercely, like two pools of ice honed to needles at Rumple's head. She spoke low, in a whispered tone that promised death if she were free at that exact moment. "How did you know? How could you possible know about any of that?"

"The kiddies don't call me the all-powerful Dark One for nothing, darling." He threw back at her with a mocking sing-song tone of voice. He gave another flourishing bow. "Rumplestiltskin, the darkest and cruelest being in all the worlds. At least as far as you'll ever know, dearie."

The young blondie woman was now regarding him more suspiciously. Her shoulders were tense as he released her from his power and floated the baby into her arms. She didn't drop the child this time, and Rumple was thankful for that. So far away from his home was putting a strain on his powers. Cruella watched him with caution in her eyes, but also gave the baby a few glances.

"So," Rumple went over to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders casually. She gave his leather jacket a disgusted look, but then returned her attention to the baby in her arms. "Just between us friends... Exactly how many fathers have you killed by this point? Two, three?"

"If you must know," Cruella sighed as if she were explaining how a lover might be doing in a menial job instead of outright murder, "I killed my father for having an affair. I thought his mistress was uglier than my mother, and I simply would not have people think my family slummed in the mud. He could have done so much better than that horse-faced woman."

"And the next one?"

"He was an improvement. Certainly more handsome than father, darling. But… he still left much to be desired. And I didn't much like the way he looked at me when mother wasn't around. He simply had to go. You understand." Cruella waved a hand aside as if she had fired a maid rather than killed her own stepfather.

"To truth, too true." Rumple nodded, and pretended to sip tea. "Good parents are so hard to find these days."

"Oh, tell me about it." Cruella smiled, and Rumple saw a hint of the woman from his visions peek through in all her evil glory. "I love my mother dearly, but very soon she too will have to go. She's getting old, darling, and I'll not be stuck in the house taking care of an old bag of bones for the rest of my days."

Rumple smiled evilly this time, showing purely white teeth. "Me thinks someone enjoys a little dip in the dark waters."

"Why not have a fun time if you've got a job that needs to get done?" Cruella shrugged, moving the gun in her hands as it was now becoming awkward to hold it and the baby. "Oh, Rumple darling, do you mind?"

"Certainly not. Allow me to help." Rumple reached forward.

Cruella had been trying to hand him the baby. Rumple took the gun. She swore under her breath while he mocked her with a grin.

"A little to green to trickery for me to fall to that one, dearie. But you get points for trying. Nice execution of casual conversation, too. You have all the making of a high-functioning lunatic."

"Thank you," she snapped dryly while giving the baby a distasteful look.

"You're so young, dearie. To find the darkness inside you and take hold of it. Seize it and let it bloom in your soul… well, I must admit that I had already had a wife and child by that time. And my child went away. Balefire was his name." Rumple looked over at Cruella to see if the name registered with her. It appears it did not as she was eyeing him oddly. He sighed before making a sound at the back of his throat. "Ratty little boy, all the same. No good was he. Ran off and got himself killed. Terrible for him, but lucky me. I don't have to leave my riches to any snot-nosed brat."

The way Cruella's eyes lit up at the mention of wealth told Rumplestiltskin a lot more about her than she would probably ever guess. He had a show of stretching his arms and yawning as the gun disappeared from his palm in a whirl of purple smoke. Cruella looked mildly surprised at that, but she kept her cool. She was beginning to see that Rumple was not someone to be underestimated. If he had to guess, the girl was probably thinking of ways to make a friend of convenience out of him rather than an enemy. Magic and money, she was more than likely thinking, were two powerful allies to have on your side.

"Yes well, all the same the baby can't stay. My mother torments me enough with her dogs, I'd hate to see what she'd do if I suddenly had a child she didn't even know about. I'd probably end up as dog chow along with this mangy thing." She sniffed at the baby blanket but found that it was surprisingly fresh. It must have been magic.

"Oh, I don't think Mommy dearest will be much of a problem. She'll accept the change almost… magically, you can say." Rumple winked at her, and Cruella did not find it as amusing as he probably did.

"What about the attic, then?" Cruella asked, and Rumple was sure it was more about her than the baby. "I'm locked up there most hours of the day. Can't be good for the baby, darling. Not to mention that this little thing doesn't even have a name. When my parents named me Cruella, they were just begging for me to turn out a psychopathic killer."

"True enough. After all, names do have power and purpose. By the way, the baby is a boy and his name is Ronald. Take a good look at him. Let it sink in."

Cruella sneered at Rumple while pulling back the baby blanket. She was angry with herself for gasping at the little baby. His red hair shocked her, it was so foreign to her senses. Never before had she seen a ginger baby, only heard about them and read about them in the papers. Some called them devil children, and others said they possessed no souls. Her mother called all the people idiots and that every child should be loved.

Not free, Cruella thought with a scowl, just loved.

"Oh, he has the softest little skin." Cruella cooed at the child, her hand lightly stroking his fresh baby skin. "You would make just the most darling pair of gloves to date, little baby Ron-Ron."

Cruella nearly leapt out of her own skin when Rumple was suddenly in front of her, his golden skin glistening in the moonlight. "He's not to be harmed. That baby is not for wearing, but I suppose he can still make an excellent fashion accessory. You are going to love this baby boy. Doing everything in your power to see him loved and cherished as his birth parents could not. They could not provide for him, and so you will shower him with all the gifts in all that they could not because of their lack of wealth. He will want for nothing, and live with you in comfort and love."

"And if I should refuse, darling?' Cruella narrowed her eyes at him.

Rumple smiled. "Then you die. Tonight. Quite literally."

Cruella growled a little at him. "I find that very hard to believe. If you so much as lay a finger on me! You wouldn't dare—!"

Rumple lifted a finger in dramatic fashion. "Oh, not by my hand, dearie! No, no, no! Far too direct for my learned methods. No, by the hands of fate! They will be the ones to snip your mortal thread, as the term were."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Cruella looked confused, angry, and worried.

Rumple took her by the shoulder and led her further down the road and away from the house until it was a good distance away.

"You see, dearie. There are some things that no one can really see coming their way. Decisions we all make, big and small, have rewards and sometimes consequences. Your actions thus far in life… well, let's just say that you've had it coming for a _very_ _long_ time now. Your mother wrestles with one decision nearly every waking day inside that house of yours."

Cruella looked bored of the conversation. "And what is that?"

"Whether or not you're even worth saving." Rumple said in all seriousness, his face stern and uncaring. "You dear mother knows you killed her two husbands. She knows there is a powerful darkness in your soul. But she is also your mother. She doesn't want to have the police take you away, or send you to a mental asylum. She wants to save you. To save your soul. Not religious, but you get the jest of it. She wants to help you. Problem is… are you still able to be saved? Are you even worth it? Those are the questions your mommy wakes up with in the morning and goes to sleep with at night."

Cruella looked like a different person, scared and confused. "I don't… I don't understand…"

"Wel, understand this, dearie. Putting off that decision of saving you or not for so many years has forced Fate's hand. Your mother makes the decision tonight."

"T-Tonight?" Cruella's blue eyes went wide.

"Yes, tonight. Tonight the Fates have decided that they need to take action. I only see visions in the sparse, but basically let's say they flipped a coin. And the result of that is you die tonight. The decision was to either keep you locked away in the house, or to kill you by having the attic filled with a poison gas as you slept. Though really, you can't blame her. Poetic justice and all that. You did kill your father with poison tea."

"You're lying!" Cruella snapped, looking wild and defensive. She instinctively clutched the baby boy close to her, smoothing his red hair with a frantic hand. "I know you're lying! I know it! My mother would never—! She could never kill me! My mother loves me! More than anything!"

Rumple shrugged. Honestly he hadn't care about her sentiments of love and affection for her mother, or what she thought her mother felt for her. He just needed her to accept the child. "Yes, yes. Right on both accounts. Your mother does love you more than anything in the world. But the same way that you believe your mother incapable of killing you… well… Your mother thought the same of you regarding your father, affair or not. Yes, she knew. Your mother isn't stupid. In fact, I'd wager you got her share of the brains."

Cruella looked like her entire world had been shaken to its core. The girl most likely thought she'd just live a quiet life until her mother either slipped up one day so she could kill the woman, or grow too old to threaten her any longer. It was a little sweet to see such evil in someone so young, but the look on Cruella's face now as she hugged baby Ronald so close gave her the appearance of a mother scared of losing their child. Rumple wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Cruella was pure evil in the appearance of a nice young woman, but here he was pawning a child off on her since he knew the riches and wealth she would one day have. Though magic led him here, it still spoke to some part of him that was still human deep in his own heart and soul about how wrong this deal was.

Then the bigger part of him that was the Dark One told the human part to stuff a sweaty sock in it as the deal would prevent Cruella from being unusually cruel to the child and ensure that she stayed well within the guidelines of the deal he had made with the boy's birth parents.

Even if keeping in those lines came out of his coffers. And speaking of coffers, Rumple summoned a sack of gold and jewels to his hip where it appeared in the chink of coins that returned Cruella from her thoughts and back to the present.

"Wh-What do I need to do? I don't want to die. I'm so young. And I certainly don't want my mother to kill me. She'd dress my funeral in ghastly colors while in her double grief of murdering me and then pretending she didn't do it."

Rumple wanted to roll his eyes, but refrained from doing so as he made a magical contract appear in his hands.

"This basically has everything I told you about raising baby Ronald, who from this night forth shall so be named Ronald de Vil. It says that you cannot bring intentional harm to the boy or mistreat him under any circumstances. You must give him every comfort available to you, and all which he desires. In exchange, you Cruella will find yourself with wealth and riches beyond your wildest dreams. Also, on the night that your mother finally dies, you will age more slowly, almost not aging all together… depending on how the boy feels about you once he turns eleven years old."

"And you can guarantee all this? The money and youth and protection—for me and Ronald?" Cruella didn't seem to doubt Rumple's power, but more asking out of genuine curiosity.

"But of course, ma'am! I am the great and powerful Rumplestiltskin, after all. The Dark One. You'll never be in safer hands." He gave another over the top bow.

"And if he loves me… I stop aging _completely?"_ this seemed to peak Cruella's interest the most.

"Of that, yes. There will come a time where you find yourself in possession of an item that grants you youth. It will be temporary, but if you save some of that item and your new son Ronald loves you with all his heart, he will gift you with eternal youth and beauty using said item."

Cruella quickly signed the contract and even questioning how an inky quill appeared in her hand.

"Oh, and if you were thinking of just killing your mother tonight… I would advise against such hasty action. Patience, dearie, patience." He mocked her, waggling his finger in front her face. "The day will come where you have the opportunity. Then the decision of the Fates will fall into your hands. Which choice you make, however, even I cannot say. But the decision will not be made today."

With all of that said, Rumple took the jingling bag of gold and jewels from his hip and placed it firmly in Cruella's already waiting hand. "This is just the first of many to come your way. You will find bags like this appearing to you and your son. They are from me. His parents were very poor, barely able to raise the children they already had. They made sure that wealth was a definitive part of the deal, so the money comes straight from my spinning wheel, gem mines and wishing wells. I don't mind though. I have no want or need for money, especially since I can literally make as much gold as I want."

"Can you teach me?" Cruella asked, eyes sparkling. Rumple threw his head back with a laugh.

"Oh, you've no magic, dearie. But maybe someday you'll find the right man to put a little bit of magic in you." He winked, and Cruella looked disgusted with him.

"You nasty little imp!" she yelped at him, swatting him with his own bag of gold. He only laughed more though.

Rumple turned on heel and began to walk down the road, slowly disappearing in purple smoke as he did.

"Go on while you have the time and buy baby Ron-Ron the latest trends. After all, your mother would think very little of you if she saw that you weren't taking good care of that baby. She might even think she failed with you. Might even take that baby and kill you to start over from scratch."

All Cruella heard after that was the cruel laughter of Rumplestiltskin as he disappeared in a whirl of purple fog.

Cruella looked down at baby Ron, cooing to him and whispers words of how she'll someday murder her mother and everyone else some day soon. Cruella rocked him in her arms a few times before huffing and making her way down the road. After hailing a taxi and going through different baby stores that were about to close until they saw she was a new mother with her child, Cruella purchased plenty with her newfound wealth. The taxi driver was very nice about getting a few of his buddies to help carry all her purchases. She talked and laughed with them, but was glad that her gun was in her pocket along with the money she had taken from her mother's purse. If these boy got rough with her and tried to rob her, they'd find that Rumple was not leaving her defenseless for a moment, it seemed. Once they got up to the De Vil manor, Cruella saw her mother hurry out of the house in her evening attire looking haggard and worried.

"Darling girl, where have you been?" Madeline asked, eyeing the men that were carrying loads of bags and boxes into the house after greeting her. She didn't return their greetings, too shocked was she by their mere presence along with the bundle of baby blankets in Cruella's arms.

"Oh you know how these things go, mother. I was out getting some new things for the baby. Feels like he almost popped into my arms just minutes ago."

Madeline's lips went thin as she refused to draw attention to the fact that, yes, the baby was not a normal part of their family. Especially with that stock of red hair she could see poking above the blankets. Finally, she was able to fake a smile and gently guide her daughter into the house. "Yes, yes, of course. How silly of me. I just thought you'd be up in the attic, darling. Getting his crib from up there. You know that sleeping with a baby in your bed is highly unusual for our family."

"Don't worry mother. These nice and strapping men are going to build the baby a crib, among other things. I've paid them well enough." Cruella smiled at her mother's confusion and shock before taking out the money she stole and handing it to her mother, who instantly understood where it had come from. "A strange man came to me with riches. Said he had more than enough to share and that I looked like I needed a change in my life. He gave me a bag of gold and told me to ensure my baby Ronald de Vil had every comfort life could afford him. So there, I won't be needing the money I borrowed from you, Mommy. Thank you anyway. It was sweet of you to help me out in my time of need. I'll never forget it."

"Of course, dear." Madeline was growing more and more shocked by the minute. Her daughter never returned what she stole unless her dogs were at the blonde's heels.

Cruella smiled again, this one sharp and pointed. Her mother understood it, but the men who were constructing the baby's crib and setting up his room didn't even notice the tension in the air.

"I think I'd like to pay you back some way, Mommy darling. You've protected and sheltered me all these years from the harsh world. I simply must see to it that I do the same for you, darling. I will attend school, and go into fashion. I will make you the most wonderful clothes. I'm thinking _spots._ They'll be to die for, darling! And you'll even be able to die in them! Wahahaha!"

Madeline looked horrified, but Cruella stopped laughing when she realized she was still holding the baby so close. The baby began to stir, but didn't awaken thanks to Madeline taking the child and rocking him expertly in her arms while shushing him back to sleep. Cruella watched this with a smirk.

"Oh yes, mother darling. There are certainly going to be some changes around here from now on."

"Yes, dear… Of course." Madeline said in a resigned sort of tone as she looked down at the baby and continued to rock him in her arms.

She could only hope that Ronald de Vil turned out better this his new mother.

* * *

 **And so the devil has her baby, Ronald de Vil, the Red Devil. Ooohhh, I like how this story takes a shape of its own some times!**

 **Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to make it into a fur coat? Leave a REVIEW and let me know what you think!**

 **All questions, comments, concerns, and ideas are welcome!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	5. Family Coupon Always Accepted

**Chapter 5: Family Coupon Always Accepted**

* * *

Prince Draco was honestly quite bored of his lessons under his tutor. The wheezy old man droned on and on about the Ogre Wars, leaving very little interest in what he was teaching as he stood there like a man already one foot in the grave.

Draco wanted desperately to be learning magic with his mother at the moment. The things he could do with magic were wonderful and beyond imagination. If he were hungry he could summon an apple or some cider from the kitchens without his fretful servants making him wait minutes for them to run down and get it by hand. If he were bored, the young prince could enchant his toys to do battle for his amusement. If he wanted music, then he could make a simple song play without the need to bring in an orchestra.

Magic was amazing.

But now his mother was refusing to teach him any more magic. When you're older and wiser to learn more responsibly, she said in that honeyed tone while holding his face between her hands. Patience, she whispered as she hugged him to her chest.

Well he was older now! He had waited patiently for nearly an entire month! This was unbelievable! His mother was wasting his time with learning from this old bag of bones.

"Enough, Fairland! Enough!" Draco demanded, rubbing his temples as he stood from his desk. The old man sputtered and wheezed, but Draco held up a hand and brought silence to the geezer. "You bore me to death with your ogre wars and castle history. Come back tomorrow with more exciting lessons, or I shall tell my mother that you are wasting my time and her coin. Good day."

"But young Prince, you must understand—" Professor Fairland tried to explain, but Draco narrowed his stormy grey eyes at the man.

"I said good day, professor! Be gone before you incur my wraith!" Draco shouted, and the old man moved to flee with the speed of one half his age. Draco knew he would return tomorrow with something exciting, but then the next day afterward would just be back to ogre wars and boring castle stories.

Draco clapped his hands twice, which summoned forth two servants who were standing outside the door to his room. "Remove this desk and those books. I don't want to see them for the rest of the day. If I do, both of you will be punished severely."

"Yes, your highness." The two servants bowed before lifting the desk together along with the books atop it. Not a book was dropped and the servants made little noise as they moved in unison out the prince's chambers.

Draco turned his attention to the spell book his mother tried to hide from him, thinking he'd never venture into her personal library without her permission. It would be days before she noticed it was gone. Days before she heard some form of news or rumor about that little tart Snow White and her escapades across the land in defiance of their royal mother. He never understood why his queen mother didn't just set the girl ablaze and be down with it. Snow White was a thorn in the side of their kingdom. A princess in rebellion to everything she had been born and raised to believe. It was mind-boggling to the blond prince how the girl eluded their patrols and escaped capture at every turn. If they had simply listened to Draco, then they would have burned every acre of forest and destroyed every village that dared to shelter their prey.

It was just that simple. At least to his eyes.

His mother often laughed at him, saying that his justice was heavy-handed and ill-experienced. He retorted that she was sentimental and blinded by peasants that meant nothing to them. The village folk were there to serve the kingdom, not the other way around. Theirs was not the fairy kingdom where every citizen had an equal voice. No, they were the rulers absolute and anyone who questioned or defied that authority had better quickly find themselves another kingdom to live in less they be executed by the Huntsman.

That was the way Draco saw things. There was only black and white, not the greys that his mother said dominated the world. Not in their kingdom. Not if under his rule.

Not when he came to power as king of their land.

Draco opened the spell book and flipped through its pages at his leisure. He had even heard whispers from the servants at night that Snow White had met someone while on the run from their authority. Someone she was quickly falling in love with. The blond boy of ten years would never understand his estrange sister. Especially when those same servants whispered that Snow White was carving out a kingdom to the north of theirs in the lands belonging to the seven dwarves of the Pixie Dust mines. That land was much too small for a proper kingdom. Draco had told his mother about it all, but she too had scoffed at the notion that the dwarves' land was sufficient for any kingdom to arise.

And yet, the servants continued to murmur and mutter about a castle being built by the fairy folk and the dwarves and the Enchanted Forest's many homely creatures. Together, they muttered, the land would become a kingdom and together would it be ruled. Draco had wanted to laugh in his bed, but refrained from doing so at such a late hour back then.

It was crazy! Absolutely insane! Many people could not govern a kingdom together! Only a king and queen could make decisions while fools and cowards gave advice that would either agree with the two in power or fall on deaf ears.

In his pondering on how ridiculous it was that Snow White was making a farce into a kingdom, Draco noticed someone scribbled into the side margins of the spellbook when he turned it back to the first page. It appeared to be a name. Whether it was the name of a spell, object, place, or thing, the young prince could not discern.

"Rumplestiltskin…?" he said in question to himself, tasting the name on his tongue. It was foul and clunky. "What kind of spell is that?"

"It's not a spell, dearie." A voice answered behind him, and Draco had a fireball in hand faster than he'd ever before. It was the last thing his queen mother had taught him. Normally it took a few moments to make, but on reflex he had to defend himself. It was weak when compared to the ones he concentrated on, but it would serve its purpose well. "Though it might as well be for your purposes. Names have power, after all. That will be your first lesson from me. Free of charge."

"Who dares?" Draco snarled as his hand went warm with the fireball in his palm.

"Rumplestiltskin, at your service." The voice was coming from the chair near his balcony. Draco rushed over, but stumbled back in shock of the golden-green scaled man sitting in his favorite chair aside from his throne. "Quite the comfy little seat you have here. By its position, I'm thinking you like looking out at the stars."

"Wrong, old man." Draco sneered as he focused on making the fireball bigger and more powerful. It cast a light in the room even though it were daylight. "I like looking out into the kingdom, reminding myself that one day soon… everything the light touches will be mine."

"Oooh!" Rumplestiltskin wiggled his fingers in delight. "Someone certainly wants the lion's share of power. What's your name, dearie?"

"I am Prince Draco Mills, son of Queen Regina, and heir to the kingdom." Draco tilted his chin up, so he could look down his nose at the short man, who seemed all to amused and happy with his answer. The man began to clap before bouncing out of the chair and whirling around the room as if dancing with a ghost.

"Oooh! Regina certainly did a number on you! You look and sound just like a prince who's had it all his entire life. That deal was thorough than a few others, but still I can tell that you've been raised just as instructed. Rich, cultured, and superior to all others. Heh, heh, ha, ha! This almost brings a tear to my eye!"

"What the devil are you on about, you funny little man?" Draco dispelled his fireball in confusion as the man danced around his room, mumbling to himself about how everything in his room screamed that he was well taken care of.

"I'm talking about how I delivered you to your loving mother. Who took you in with all her heart after the death of her husband. It was such a touching time, but that doesn't matter right now." Rumplestiltskin waved a hand to banish his thoughts as if they were clouding the air. The golden scaled man grinned sharply at Prince Draco, who even in his private chambers was still wearing the golden circlet with jewels adorning it, signaling that he was a wealthy prince.

"What are you?" Draco demanded, and Rumplestiltskin gasped as if mildly offended.

"What, what, what—Me, oh my! What a rude question! I am not a what! I've already introduced myself. What I neglected to mention was that I was here because your mother and I have business to discuss… but not for at least another few days. I thought I'd pop in to see how you've been handled. And my, how Regina has handled you so well. I guess I taught her well."

"You taught my mother?" Draco questioned, looking very skeptical. "I find that incredibly hard to believe."

"Oh, but of course I taught your mother. Everything she knows is thanks in part to me. I was especially instrumental in her instruction to magic." Rumple smiled at the prince again, showing off his white teeth. "And I must say… you've got the potential to be more powerful than her. And you are already so much more eager, too! She didn't have a thought of magic until she was nearly sixteen years of age. But you… you've been learning magic for a while now. I can practically taste it in the air. I'd say about… two years now...?"

"Yes," Draco let his shoulders relax, seeing as this man had a personal relationship with his mother if he could pop into the castle, one that was protected against intruders. This strange man had also taught his mother magic, something she neglected to inform Draco about when they practiced. "But now my mother has seen fit to slow my progress into the mystical arts. She says that when I'm older she will continue my tutelage."

"Tch, tch, tsk, tsk!" Rumplestiltskin again wagged a finger, but this time was shaking his head sadly. "I must say I'm disappointed that she's holding you back. Why, if anyone had held her back after she finally began listening to my sage advice… Well… who knows what might have happened to the poor soul! She was so hurt and angry back then. But you are nothing at all like she was when I first appeared to her. She was so kind… so gentle…"

"The past has no interest for me." Draco declared, swiping a hand through the air to get his point across. "All I care for is to learn magic. It doesn't matter from who at this point. If you taught my mother, then you are more than an adequate study on the subject."

"Yes! Just tell me what you desire!" Rumple's grin was back as he stood in front of young Draco. "Power? The death of your enemies? The death of your friends?"

"I have no friends." Draco said, looking a little sad at that before sneering. "All I desire is power. I can crush my enemies with magic. It is put a tool I wish to use when normal means are too slow or fall too short."

"Spoken like a true king in the making." Rumple declared with a dramatic finger pointed high. "Hard to believe that you're Regina's son when I compare the two of you at the age of ten years old. I'll tell you just as I told her."

"What?" Draco asked, looking curious for the first time. He was slowly beginning to let his guard down around the strange golden-green man.

Rumple's grin was almost savage. "You can do so much… if you just let yourself."

* * *

Regina relaxed in her private chambers, eyes closed as she basked in the supreme feeling of just being the queen of all she surveyed for a moment.

Until that moment was interrupted by the Imp, known to most others as Rumplestiltskin.

"I take it that you've finished conversing with my son." Queen Regina spoke not in question, but rather stated the fact. "You were in his room for quite some time. Did you get in a lesson or two?"

"Oh, I might have showed him a trick. He didn't quite take it to _heart_ , if you will. Said he had no use for that sort of magic right now, though he was green around the gills all the same. Shame, really. I can clearly see he'd be just as good at it as you." Rumple was grinning. Even with her eyes closed, Regina could feel it like a slug on the skin. It sickened her. The imp always thought he were so smart. That he was playing her for a game.

If only he knew what she had been truly preparing Draco for. If only he could see that it was really her that was playing him for the fool.

"Taking hearts was never a good thing. It's why I stopped teaching him. It was the first step to a dark path I wouldn't subject my son to walking down." She opened her eyes to look up at Rumple, who was standing by her balcony as he often did when he came to see her. In his hands was a handheld telescope.

"But you're just fine with me setting him down that road? Me thinks you actual care for the boy." Rumple sang in a light tone, making Regina scowl.

"I love my son. He is precious to me, but he vexes me at times." Regina admitted, because really Rumple and her went to far back for her to lie to him. "He's nothing like Snow was at his age… and truth be told, I'm nothing like I was when raising Snow at that age. He's in my heart, my sweet little Draco… but it's hard to really let myself love him as much as I've loved those before him after everything that's happened in my life."

"Then perhaps that's a blessing in disguise, dearie." Rumple finally turned to her, and the grin on his face was infuriatingly smug. He held his telescope out to her. Regina sighed as she rose from her relaxing spot and crossed the room to jerk it from his grasp. He only grinned wider, making her more annoyed with him. "Just like this might be. Look out over that way. Right under the dragon constellation that your precious son is named for."

Regina rolled her eyes as she looked out the telescope to see whatever Rumple was trying to point to her. When she did set her gaze across the land, the queen wasn't quite sure what it was she was seeing. Some kind of stone manor?

"What in the name of hearts is that thing?" Regina said with slight disdain. She looked back at Rumple, who was now giggling madly. "Don't tell me you and I are about to become neighbors. I don't think I could stand the thought."

"Oh no," Rumple's smile dropped as he pointed a sharp fingernail directly at the stone mansion. "That little abode resides in the land of fairies and dwarf folk. I hate those magic bugs more than anything in life or death. I certainly wouldn't want them flying around asking to borrow a cup of sugar, even if I'd like to be a bit closer to my favorite student."

It slowly dawned on Regina what Rumple was trying to get across to her. "No…"

"Yes," he nodded, his amused expression morphing into a serious one. "You know exactly who that house belongs to."

"No." Regina shook her head. "No, no, no. No! This cannot be!"

Regina took another look, and the telescope was enchanted to give her an even better view where she could just barely make out the dwarves going around with their pickaxes in hand.

"NO!" Regina raged, throwing the telescope aside where Rumple had to swish a hand and keep it in the middle of the air, less it shatters against the wall where the angered queen had thrown it. "How can this be possible? She only ran away a few years ago! How could she be so loved to become ruler of an already populated land? Who could love her so?"

"Well, there is that whole fairest in the land thing going for her." Rumple waggled his fingers, "I suspect that helped a lot."

"I'll destroy her happiness from here!" Regina created a fireball, which slowly increased in size as her rage built up more and more.

Rumple reached over to her, putting her arm down and extinguishing her fireball with a little effort. "That would do you no good, dearie. That place is very protected. Built by hand, imbued with magic in every stone. The dwarves and fairies ensured of that. I suspect that it and all the more they build of it into a proper castle will stand strong against all but the darkest of curses."

"You could have brought this to my attention ages ago!" Regina yelled, disgusted with her former teacher as she whirled on heel away from him. "Now by the time I could gather my army, those fairies and dwarves would have every inch of their lands fortified from their little mansion."

"Yes, they are certainly the best architects of our world. They created a shelter strong against all, with enough room to build up and out." Rumple pointed a finger up dramatically. "Meanwhile you've been in your castle scaring the staff and half-heartedly training your little boy. What happened to that raging inferno inside you? Where hides the Evil Queen?"

"I am not an evil queen!" Regina snapped back, fists clenched at her side. "I only want Snow White to suffer for what she did to my beloved!"

"Then what's holding you back?" Rumple roared, and Regina shrank back from his volume. "You have power in magic! Use it!"

"I have used it, you filthy imp!" Regina rose to her full height, no longer allowing herself to be scared of Rumplestiltskin as she had been years ago. "I have used magic on multiple occasions to try and end her charmed life! Magic is not the answer here!"

"Magic is never the problem, dearie." Rumple corrected, "Just the type you've been using. Just look at your old friend Maleficent. She got what she wanted in the end. King Philip and Briar Rose's daughter, Princess Aurora, still sleeps to this day thanks to her Sleeping Curse. Nearly five years and counting on that one with no hope of waking from her slumber. You could take a lesson from her, and in more than just a couple of fire spells, you impatient little witch."

"Maleficent's curse…? It still plagues the girl?" Regina remembered helping with the curse. It had been Maleficent's invention, but she had come to see Regina before casting it. She wanted the young queen's help adding a bit of flair to her enemy's undoing.

The two had been friends ever since that night Draco had come into her life and Regina wanted to learn more ways to protect herself and her baby with magic. Rumple had brought up Maleficent back then as well. The sorceress had been much nicer than Regina was expecting, if only a little impatient. A newborn unicorn, she had said she was taking care to raise up properly. Regina had seen the unicorn on some occasions, but even as it grew Maleficent's time was always short. It had to be a couple of years since she last saw the only person Regina could honestly call her only friend in the world. The Mistress of All Evil was busy ruling her kingdom which had become nicer in more recent years, and Regina couldn't exactly escape blame for their falling out of touch herself since she found a lot of her time consumed as well with raising Draco. Honestly, sometimes Regina thought Maleficent had a child of her own with how understanding she was to Regina's many excuses and delays as to why one of them had to cancel a dinner, brunch, or afternoon tea with the other.

Of course, Regina knew that Maleficent's only child was her pet unicorn. Regina always made the excuse of saying that her leaving or canceling plans was because of something Snow White did when she needed to attend to Draco and his annoying habit of ruining her fun with her only friend.

"Right you are!" Rumple declared, grinning again as Regina rolled her eyes. He was finally getting to the point of his visit. She wasn't as active in her vengeance, he wanted to see her happy, and Maleficent was a new venue to that happiness coming true. "I take it you haven't seen much of your friend in recent years. All that time raising the boy, and all."

Did his grin just get bigger? And why did she feel that he wasn't just talking about her?

"Yes, well, children do take a lot out of you. Not that you'd ever understand." Regina crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I'd understand more than you think, dearie." Rumple smiled before tapping his chin. "Hmm, me thinks the old dragon queen knows nothing about your precious blond princeling. Keeping secrets from friends, are we?"

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Maleficent is consumed with that pet unicorn of hers. She hardly has any time anyway. Its like that thing needs her as much as Draco needs me." Regina complained with a wave of her hand to dismiss Rumple's mockery.

"Unicorn?" Rumple echoed in confusion before laughing, "Oh, is that what it is? My, my, I never thought Maleficent would be so cunning."

"Cunning? About a unicorn? I have seven." Regina shook her head. "Though hers is miniature. Lives in the fortress with her as well."

"About ten years old now, if memory serves me right. Black of hair and emerald eyes." Rumple was laughing to himself and shaking with amusement. "Oh that cunning woman. And hear I thought I was smart."

"I'm not following. Enlighten me. You seem to know something about that unicorn that I do not. Tell me." Regina drawled because she was not amused by Rumple's antics.

"No, no. It's nothing, dearie. Just a little feud between me and old dragon breath, is all." Rumple waved it aside as he stood up straight. "I was actually the one to find and bring that unicorn to her, just as I gave you Draco from the Malfoy family."

"Well, that explains why she was so nice to me when I first met her. I had been told by you and everyone else of importance that she was enraged by Briar Rose waking with True Love's Kiss from King Philip at the time. She was angry about it, but didn't seem to be burn down forests like you all said she did."

"Oh she did, but Maleficent is the type to control her fury until she has all the answers to her questions and a plan to make her foes suffer. Again, you can still learn a lot from her."

"Well, I'll do just that." Regina smiled, showing her perfectly white teeth as she turned from Rumplestiltskin and headed for the door.

"Without a gift in hand, dearie?" Rumple appeared in front of her, blocking the door. "Now I know your mother raised you better than that."

"I'll get her a golden broach. What's it matter?" Regina tried to move pass him, bt still Rumple blocked her way.

He was grinning again. Damn did that piss her off.

"Dearie, you're about to go and make small talk with the literal Mistress of All Evil over tea before asking her for her most powerful Sleeping curse. I think you'll need to do better than a golden broach." Rumple said with his eyes glittering with some unseen emotion. "Thankfully, I think you already have what you need right here."

In his hands appeared her spell book, or rather his spell book that he had passed on to her. He turned to the back of the book, waving a hand over it. In a plume of purple smoke, a secret compartment revealed itself before their very eyes. Rumplestiltskin opened the compartment, taking out its only contents, which happened to be a tiny scroll of parchment paper. With a twist of his hand it was surrounded by a glass orb.

Rumple gently placed the orb containing the scroll in Regina's hand, closing her fingers around it.

Regina stared at the orb for a moment. "What is this? I've cast revealing charms over that book a thousand times, and never has that happened before."

"That's because you didn't say please. Remember this, dearie: Please is a very powerful word." Rumple giggled, but then turned his attention back to the orb. He pointed down at it. "That is a very powerful curse. A very dark curse, as well. In fact, it is the _darkest_ curse to ever come into my possession. The darkest curse I know to date. In fact, it might just be the darkest curse in all the lands."

Regina nearly dropped the orb out of reflex, but kept her nerves together. She stared back at Rumple in horror. "What the hell?!"

"Don't you worry, Regina. I never had any intentions of casting the curse _myself_. But I couldn't let just anyone have it. What with being the darkest spell, and all. No, I passed it along to you because I knew even if you found it, you'd never want to use it. And now you can pass it along to Maleficent, who too will have no purpose for it, save guarding it from morons who thing dark magic is a quick fix."

Regina regarded Rumple, then the orb, testing its weight and shape in her hand. "What's it do?"

"Glad you asked, my inquisitive young queen of evil." Regina swatted his arm for that. "This curse is powerful beyond reason. It will literally rip the land of its people and send them all to a land without magic. There, only the caster will be free to act as they see fit. Everyone will be in a world designed by the caster. They will act according to the caster's whims when crafting the curse. They will know only what the caster wants them to know, and believe only what the caster wants them to believe. It is the ultimate torture. Unbreakable to a fault since the land will be one without magic."

Regina gasped, backing away slightly from Rumple. "That's horrible! The fairies and dwarves and creatures of the Enchanted Forest survive on magic! It would literally kill them! It might even kill Maleficent if her true form is a dragon!"

"If is a big word to ponder, am I right?' Rumple giggle madly. "But no, it won't kill them. It will turn them human to a fault. That is why it is the ultimate torture. All their happiness… all the happiness of everyone in the Enchanted Forest… undone in one fell swoop by one black heart."

"All that power left to one person…"

" _Well_ ," Rumple stretched the word with a shrug, "not exactly, dearie. You see, it cost a high price to cast. You need the blackest souls to gather, each giving a piece of their essence to cast the curse. Take wolfsbane from the mountain trolls of old. The horn of a unicorn, willfully given. Th wings of a fairy, forcefully taken. And then you have to take the heart of that which you love most of all in the entire world… and _crush_ _it_ as you perform The Dark Curse."

Regina gasped again, clutching at her heart. "That is just… Dear gods above…"

Rumple nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is a very tall order. But there are those who are desperate enough to cast such a curse because they feel cheated by life. That fate dealt them an unfair hand. Now you have it. Take it to Maleficent and exchange it for her Sleeping curse. One look at that orb, and she'll accept the deal because for all her talk of being the Mistress of All Evil, even she isn't cruel enough to cast such a black-hearted spell."

"It really is horrible, isn't it?" Regina said quietly, but Rumple shook his head.

"Oh, its bad. Really, really bad. But I suppose someone could use it for good purposes." Rumple shrugged again, but there was still the glint in his eyes that Regina could not decipher. "Maybe they just want to start a new life. Maybe they feel that magic is the root of all problems. Who knows what goes through a person's mind when they make and use spells like this one. Regardless, you have no use for it other than to bargain with Maleficent."

"Yeah…" Regina spoke quietly, still looking down at the orb. Rumple's last words were ringing in her head. A new life. One where she could be rid of Snow White forever, and just raise her son without the pressures of being queen or magical. "No use for it at all…"

Regina gripped the orb and marched pass Rumple, who was again smiling at her sharply.

Maybe she could get it back if all else failed her.

But… would it be worth it?

* * *

 **And now we see where the Evil Queen comes into the picture. As well as her son. Wonder what kind of hell they'll make? Tune in next to find out!**

 **Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to just rip its heart out? Leave a REVIEW below to let me know!**

 **All questions, comments, concerns and ideas are welcome!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	6. Gold Half-Off

**A/N: The title is a play on words, meaning that while we all know Rumple's ultimate plan in the series, he's not as much the mastermind as he thinks. He is under the impression that he has Regina doing everything according to his schemes, but what he doesn't know is that she and others have made schemes of their own. It'll be a slow burn for the Dark One, but a burn none the less.**

 **Chapter 6: Gold Half-Off**

* * *

Two men appeared out of the darkness of an alleyway as they made their way straight and quick to the dark castle that loomed over their village. For a second, the men stood quite still, each reaching into their cloaks for a dagger when they heard a starling noise come from behind them. But thankfully it was just a silvery blond cat with light blue eyes that stared at them eerily. The cat was followed by one of ginger with emerald green eyes. The two cats scurried fast through the village, seemingly making their way to the castle before slipping through the tightly fenced gates and disappearing from view.

"I hate this place," one man said as the other let out a sigh of relief.

"I do too. If I didn't need the gold to leave this place, then I'd have been long gone ages ago." The other man admitted while his companion nodded in agreement.

"I mean, things have gotten better in the last few years, but the queen's obsession with Snow White causes us all pain. The random searches, the public punishments. The little freedom we have slowly being stripped away. And that prince son of hers! He's even worse than his mother with all the demands and such!"

"Oh well." The second man sighed, "After this, I can finally leave. I hear the kingdom to the north is a great place where everyone is equal and they all live in harmony. That's the type of place I want to raise my kids."

"I hear ya. No kids of my own, but it sounds like just the place to find my true love." The first man looked hopeful.

The second man looked over to the first. "What news are you bringing the queen?" he asked as they came up to the castle gates. They had to show special badges to the guards, who roughly pushed them into the castle and escorted them the entire way in silence. The men's long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched.

"I saw it with my own eyes. It was a little tricky to get a view without being caught, but I hope the queen will be satisfied. What about you?" the first said, looking curious now to his companion's tale.

"I have the best news for the queen. I just got it from a reliable source. You sound confident that your reception will be good?" the second man said with his chest puffed up a bit. His blunt features slid in and out of sight as the dark castle's shadows were broken only by light from the high windows above.

The guards following behind them were as silent as statues. Somewhere in the dark castle beyond their vision a fountain was playing. The boots clomped along the pristine black marble floors as the four sped toward the queen's throne room chamber doors, which swung inward at their approach, though nobody had visibly opened them. The throne room's hall was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the walls followed the men as they strode past. The throne room was refashioned into one with a long and ornate table seated paces below the four thrones that sat high in the back of the room. Atop her throne, the Evil Queen looked both beautiful and foreboding as she smiled dimly at their entrance. Her son, the young prince, only sneered down at them while lounging petitely upon his throne next to his mother.

The thrones of king and princess were empty as usual.

One from a tragic death and the other from the worst kind of treachery.

This room felt more like a war council than anything as the darkly-clad men and rigid women looked down their noses at the two men in their long shabby cloaks and the two guards that guided them in. The guards bowed once and then quickly made their exit, making the two cloaked men very jealous of their departure. Illumination came from a roaring fireball suspended by magic in the air high above the table where a chandelier normally would hang. The two men in cloaks lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scene.

An apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope, and reflected in the lone mirror that was, too, suspended near the table by magic as if it had a seat at said table and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. None of the people seated underneath this singular unsettling sight was looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every minute or so.

"Gentlemen, please come in," Queen Regina's voice was light and pleasant to the ear, which did nothing to belay the edge of her tone. Like a sharpened steel sword hidden beneath a layer of velvet. "You are very nearly late. And it's quite impolite to lurk in doorways."

The chamber doors behind the two men slammed shut at their backs before they even had a chance to make the first step.

"You had better come with more impressive findings than this one," the young Prince Draco sneered as his mother quietly admonished him, "Her punishment is still very much… up in the air, as the phrase goes."

The men gulped as they took their seats at the table when the queen indicated for them to do so.

"My Queen, young Prince," the second man said with a bow at his waist from the table. "the fairies are abandoning the Kingdom of Charming to fly east. They are returning to their own lands for a ritual of some unknown fashion. This leaves their kingdom magically defenseless to your forces. Even as Snow White lies dead and Prince Charming in sorrow, your might will surely crush them all with ease now!"

"Interesting, interesting indeed." Queen Regina turned to her son. "What say you, my son? Is that not great news?"

"It is indeed, mother." Draco was smiling with malicious now, his hands clenching the arms of his throne tightly. "We should mobilize the army and wipe their precious happy kingdom on the morrow!"

The first man, however, was looking incredibly sorry for the second man. He was making vague shooing gesture to the second man, but he was too busy basking in glory of winning approval from both queen and prince.

The mirror glowed briefly before a giant head appeared in its reflection. This head and face was not like any other that sat at the table. "My queen, I believe this deserves a reward. Let him be gone from this place so he might quickly bring us more news."

The first man sighed in relief as the second grinned with delight. In the second man's hand appeared a large sack of gold when the prince rolled his eyes and waved a hand that seemed to give off silver sparkles.

"Take your gold and go, long cloak. Know that if you betray us in any way, I will find you myself. Either bring us more news for more gold, or disappear never to be seen again." The prince said harshly as the second man nodded fast and ran from the throne room faster.

"You've no worries from me, your graces. I'm a ghost from now on." The gold-laden man said with a chuckle as he rushed through the chamber doors and gently closed them behind himself. The first man slumped with relief in his chair.

"And your news, dear sir." The mirror somehow turned itself and look toward him. He sat up ramrod straight.

"Umm, yes! Your majesty… your highness… I have some… t-terrible news…" the man seemed to lose his voice as with every stumbled word the faces around him darkened with barely contained fury. All except the mirror, who looked sympathetic toward his plight.

The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some stiffened, others glared, all gazing at solely upon him.

"What terrible news exactly?" the queen snarled behind grit teeth. Her brown eyes fastened upon the man's black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze.

The man, however, mustered up the sum of all his courage and looked back at the queen. After a moment or two, Queen Regina's pouty red lips curved into something like a smile.

But it wasn't a smile. Of that, everyone was certain.

"Speak quickly, peasant!" Draco was growing impatient, and Regina silenced him with a sharp look.

"Do as my son commands." Regina said in a softer, but more threatening tone.

"My queen, I have heard tale that the entire Charming Kingdom is preparing for... a wedding!" the man said fast, then slapped both hands over his mouth as others around him gasped and the queen's mouth went slack. Even the young prince was rendered speechless by this news.

"Impossible!" a very prim woman in a large black hat snapped while slapping a hand to the table. The woman was dressed as if attending a funeral. "Impossible, I say! My queen, I have seen differently in my crystal ball. Soren Vest, the candlemaker! I have seen him in my crystal gaze. He makes no wedding gifts, only funeral lights so the kingdom might gaze upon Snow White's untouched corpse."

"Your crystal ball has been wrong before, Morphia!" a man with a handlebar mustache struck the table next. "But I agree with one thing: there is no way that Snow White lives! My spies visited upon her glass grave not long ago! If she were among the living, then I would have been informed!"

"Mirror!" the queen snapped, all everything fell as silent as a grave.

The mirror glowed once again, but the face in it turned unfriendly to all around it. It was ghastly green and rigid like a drama mask. There were no eyes, only hollow holes where once the warmth of a man's gaze had been. Like a mask of death. " _Snow White is unclear to my all-seeing eye. A trick, perhaps, by the fairies who fly. East is their goal, to which they make haste. A wedding I see, but to whom is it placed. Uncertain is much with my vision so clouded. But speak truly this brave man did, for which he was touted_."

"I think you need a new all-seeing mirror, my queen." A squat man sitting on the opposite side of the cloaked man said. He gave a wheezy giggle that was echoed here and there along the table. The queen did not laugh, nor did her son. The blond prince's gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought.

"My queen," the cloak man stood from the table, "I snuck into Snow Castle myself. I put my life in danger to bring you this information. I know it is not what you wish it to be, but I am not—!"

The queen held up a slender hand, and the man subsided at once, watching fretfully as she turned her attention back to the prim lady.

"You will go back to your crystal ball and find me more evidence than a candlemaker. I want to see that little tart's corpse in that ball of yours, or I'll have your heart in my hand."

The prim woman glared and sniffed haughtily before she swept from the room.

Next, the queen's gaze fell upon the man who argued. "Your spies are delayed, Armand. Get me fresh news, or join Morphia in my heart collection. You two always did enjoy each other's company."

"At once, my queen." The man did not seem angry or afraid as he calmly left.

"Everyone else is dismissed. If Snow White is truly dead to the world in her eternal sleep, then we have nothing more to discuss. The next summons shall be war. But if she lives…"

They all understood the unspoken threat that doubled as a command. First was the death of Snow White's happiness, then the death of her kingdom. That was the will of their queen.

That was the will of Queen Regina, known throughout the lands as the Evil Queen.

As all the others rose from the ornate table and left, the magic mirror disappeared in a whirl of red smoke. Still the prince was gazing up at the slowly revolving body as his queen mother waved a hand and stopped the cloaked man from moving another step. Around his body was a mist of blue that froze him in place.

"You did well in bring me this unhappy news, kind sir." The queen said, her voice echoing off the high and spacious walls of her throne room. Her smile was unreadable as she rose from her throne, each step clicking along the stone. "Tell me, do you not want your reward?"

"I n-need no such kindness from your majesty." The man said at once. "The fact that I continue to live is a grace you have afforded me with the terrible news I have brought."

"Hmm, such honeyed words and such a handsome face." The queen sighed in a manner that snapped her son's attention to what was going on. He glared at the frozen man. "But none the less, you shall have your reward. Draco."

The prince's hand did not sparkle this time, but twisted and yanked as the man groaned in pain. The blue mist around his body disappeared as he was suspended in the air next to the woman's body. Draco quickly leapt from his throne and made his way to the table as his mother watched him. He slashed his young hand through the air, and both people fell like puppets cut from their strings before Draco's hand dived into the woman's ample chest and retrieved her heart. It was red and warm with a gentle pulse that seemed to sicken the prince. When he reached for the man's chest, the queen snatched his arm out of the air.

"Reward the man, Draco." She said in a sneer before he jerked away from her.

"He is being rewarded. An eternity without the weakness of love. Further servitude to our glorious kingdom." Draco snapped back, looking as though he smelled something foul. "You saw what he did! Let that other fool take our gold and flee when he knew for a fact that something was up! I'll have the Huntsman hound that peasant to the ends of the Earth before I allow anyone to believe they can take our kingdom as fools."

"That gold is a petty consequence to us. Leave it be." The queen sneered as she made her way back up to her throne.

"It is the principle of the matter, mother!"

"No, the principle of the matter is that you are a spoiled and cruel boy!" Regina fired back hotly before her face and tone softened. "You try so hard to prove yourself, but you don't have to, baby. You are a prince. After I've dealt with Snow White and her disgusting little forest folk, you will be groomed as the youngest king our lands will ever see. It's best king by far."

The man on the floor was groaning again, but Draco sent a pulse of dark energy that knocked him into a leg of the table without looking back. The man fell silent then.

"Of course, you'll have to find yourself a queen to rule by your side." Regina tapped at her chin as a grin appeared on her face. Draco's face went flush, but he was scowling all the same. "And I do want grandchildren before I get too old. Heaven knows you are difficult enough to deal with, so we'll have to work on your attitude if we are to find you a suitable wife."

"Ugh, let us not have this conversation, mother." Draco groaned, rubbing his temples as he felt the headache build already.

The queen turned from where she was about to sit on her throne, rushing down to her son as she took him by the arm. "No, I think we shall, my beloved son. You are ten years of age, and a prince. These are the type of things you need to think about as you mature. You don't want to find yourself twenty with a laundry list of women throwing themselves at you for only your crown. You need to find yourself someone with a fire inside them. Someone smart and able to take care of themselves."

"You mean someone like you." Draco drawled, and Regina laughed as they left the throne room.

Behind them a sack of gold dropped onto the cloaked man's face.

* * *

"How are your lessons with Rumplestiltskin going, dear?" Regina asked as she lounged on a chair in her son's room.

"Fine, but the man is such a slippery individual. He speaks in riddles and never likes to get to the point unless it involves one of his ridiculous deals."

"That's Rumple for you. When he was teaching me, the imp took the heart of my favorite unicorn. Said it would teach me that kindness was weakness, and the only way to gain power was to take it."

"He certainly thinks highly of himself, that imp." Draco sneered in thought of the man.

"He always has. He thinks himself the end all and be all of magic, but he simply doesn't know how wrong he is." Regina smiled to herself. "The spellbook that arrived a few days after he brought you to me has been invaluable to your training. When I let you take my spell book, he had no idea he was falling right into our little trap."

"I still think you should have let me know of your plans instead of using me." Draco growled, his arms crossed tightly over his thin frame. "I could have helped. I do not like being left out of the loop, and certainly don't appreciate being used as a pawn, mother!"

"Don't you rise your voice to me, young man!" Regina chastised without even looking up at where her son was feeling scolded. "I am still your mother. I raised you. Bathed you. Changed your diapers myself. If I feel that you don't need to be told anything, then you will not. And if I feel that you best serve your purposes as a pawn, then you will. Am I made clear?"

When he didn't respond, Regina finally lifted herself up to see Draco glaring at the floor.

"Am I clear, Draco Mills?"

"Yes mother." He spat out with venom.

Regina smiled. "Good. Just you wait. You'll see that everything I do is for the best. Mother always knows best, son. Just listen to mother."

"Yes, mother."

"Just like when I told you about taking hearts. Not a very good experience, now is it?"

"Yes, mother."

"And when I told you love is weakness. Kindness is weakness. Are you glad for my wisdom?"

"Of course, mother."

"And now you see the hard lesson of exactly what Rumplestiltskin truly is as the Dark One. He is vile and not to be trusted, but now you see that. Now you see how the dark magic you were so excited about is not always the solution to your problems. But because of my plans you now realize that Rumple can serve his purposes as a tutor of more powerful magic not found in the spell book from your birth family."

"Yes, of course, mother."

"Now you see the whole picture. We will use Rumplestiltskin to our advantage, even though we have better magic available thanks to the book that was delivered along with you. Each year another chapter of spells and potions are revealed. Each year it makes us more powerful. Wiser into the mystical arts."

Now Draco was smiling along with Regina. "Yes, mother. Of course."

"Good. Because if there is such a wedding in the kingdom of Snow White and her Prince Charming, then it would be rude of us not to attend." Regina lost her smile, however, "And if she has awakened from her death sleep, then there is only one gift I have left to give her. That blackest of gifts that long ago I feared myself…"

"What is that, mother?" Draco asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"The end of all happiness in the Enchanted Forest, my beloved son… The end of all happiness…"

* * *

 **Hot damn, they are a great pair of vile people! This chapter practically wrote itself when I started with the idea of "random guy brings the bad news to Regina and Draco". I love this!**

 **What about you? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to drop gold on its face?**

 **Leave a REVIEW below to let me know!**

 **And remember: all questions, comments, concerns, and ideas are welcome to be considered for this story. All Are WELCOME!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	7. Special Events Cost Extra

**And now we are at the start of the show. I will confess that I am not as well-versed in ALL the plot lines of the show as they unfolded, but I do remember Season One rather well. I will try to tailor the story as much as I can so it is in line with the at least the basics of the other seasons, but I'm not going to go out of my way to make every single detail from canon in this story. I've already broken that by introducing Hogwarts kids to the Enchanted Forest.**

 **Well, enough of that crap! On with the show!**

 **Chapter 7: Special Events Cost Extra**

* * *

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union between the valiant Prince Charming and the fair Snow White." The church bishop said to all the in attendance of the wedding. Many in the chapel clapped, expressing their happiness at the marriage of two people who were not only their rulers, but also their friends.

"Ugh, disgusting bunch of gutter toads," Maleficent groaned at the back of the wedding with her son beside her looking vaguely annoyed with the whole thing.

"Why are we even here again, mother? Snow White is no friend of ours, and Prince Charming should be burned alive for making you swallow an egg on orders from the Dark One." Harry turned to his mother, Mistress of All Evil.

"Well, ever since I heard Snow White was awoken with True Love's kiss, I knew this day would come." Maleficent explains as she smiled faintly at the happy wedding. "I just wanted to be party to whatever explosion of fury the Evil Queen has planned for all this."

"They do think very highly of themselves, don't they?" Harry made a face, as though he tasted something sour. "Both the Charming couple and the Evil Queen. The Charmings are flaunting their happiness, knowing full and well that the Evil Queen will have to retaliate if she is to be taken seriously. And the Evil Queen simply can't let it go that Snow White is prettier than her."

"I thought I told you not to listen to the gossip of the servants. There is much more to the story between Snow White and Queen Regina than those fools could ever truly know." Maleficent leaned down to whisper in her son's ear. "I never told you this, but it is because of Snow White that King Daniel is dead and why Regina never took his last name."

"I thought the king's name was Leopold?" Harry looked up at his mother with skepticism.

"The second king, yes. But the queen's first love was a mere stable boy. She stylized him king after her mother disappeared or died, and she ascended to queen herself. Never did get a straight answer to that question of what happened to Queen Cora…"

"So wait… Queen Regina fell in love with a stable boy before she was queen… And the boy, or man as he had to be, died because of something Snow White did… Then her mother either dies or disappears from the kingdom, leaving Regina as the new queen at a young age… and she then married Snow White's father, who also died… Leaving Regina with Snow White?"

"Yes, and Snow White betrayed Regina once again before making her escape from the kingdom. Regina branded her a traitor of her kingdom, and Snow White had been on the run for a couple of years before finding her Prince Charming and the seven dwarf folk of this land. Then the fairies came to help, and they all built this pathetic kingdom where everyone is free and equal for Gods above know what reason…" Maleficent rolled her eyes in disgust as the wedding went on.

"But that would make this… I don't even know what that would make this! If they are equals, then the king and queen have no real power!"

"Exactly my son. Now hush," Maleficent said as both she and her son could sense the approach of a dark presence building in power. "Things are about to get interesting."

"Do you, Prince David Charming, promise to take this woman to be your wife, and love her for all eternity?" The bishop asked as he smiled upon the happy couple.

"I do," Prince Charming swore, smiling down at his true love. After everything they had been through they finally had their Happily Ever After.

"And do you, Snow White, promise to take this man to be your husband, and love him for all eternity?" The bishop turned to her with an even bigger smile. He had known Snow White for years now. She deserved this happiness after everything she'd been through.

Snow White smiled happily up at her Prince Charming, completely ignoring the crowds of people for him, and only him.

"I do." Was all she could say beyond her joyful smile.

"Then by the power vested in me by all that is good in all the realms, I now pronounce you husband and wife!" The bishop proclaimed loudly, and the audience cheered wildly as the newlyweds kissed.

Though their joy was short-lived as the doors slammed open and the cheering stopped.

The Evil Queen had entered, and right beside her was her son, Prince Draco.

"Sorry I'm late! You've no idea how hard it is to find the right dress to go along with such foolishness." Queen Regina spat as she stormed down the aisle.

"Guards! Guards!" a guest cried out, but as the guards made their way toward the queen and prince, they were sent hurtling back by a pulse of magic from the young boy. Prince Draco looked supremely happy with the fear and awe he was instilling in the wedding crowd.

"It's the Evil Queen! Run!" Doc warned, but Snow White was not so easily intimidated by her former stepmother. She quickly drew David's sword and aimed it at the approaching Regina, who didn't look too concerned with the weapon.

"She's not a queen anymore! She's nothing more than an evil witch!" Snow yelled out for all to hear, "And how dare you bring little Draco into this! I knew I should have taken him with me when I fled!"

"As if I would go along with a traitor like you!" Draco hissed back. Snow White looked hurt, but David pushed her arm down, making the sword lower.

"No, Snow. We'll not stoop to their level. There's no need." David looked at Regina with a firm expression. "You're wasting your time, Regina. You've already lost. Just leave us in peace already and be done with this petty squabble over whose the fairest in all the lands. I love Snow White, and with True Love's kiss I broke your sleeping curse. Face it, you've already lost. And I will not let you ruin this wedding."

Regina looked vaguely offended as she scoffed, putting a hand to her chest. "Oh, but that is where you're wrong, oh prince. I haven't come here to ruin anything of today." She smiled, and the newlyweds looked very confused.

"You haven't…?" they looked to each other even as Regina began to laugh. Draco shook his head with a chuckle.

"Oh no, dear sister. On the contrary, mother has the most wonderous gift to bestow upon you on this, your happiest of days." Draco said, smirking as he stepped back, and Queen Regina came to a stop a few feet from where the happy couple stood.

"We want nothing from you. Just leave us in peace." Snow denied, but Regina sneered up at her.

"But you shall have it!" Regina snapped, and the entire chapel fell silent as Regina began to turn to all the guests, who flinched away from her stormy gaze. "My gift to you is this happy, happy day. For tomorrow, my real work begins. You've made your vows, now I make _mine_. Soon, everything you love, everything _all of you_ love, will be taken from you. _Forever_! And out of your suffering will rise my victory. I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do!"

With her declaration done, Regina returned to where her son was laughing loudly with a smirk on her face.

"Hey!" Prince Charming yelled and the Queen turned just in time to see him throw his sword directly at her heart. She quickly grabbed Draco by the shoulder and disappeared in a cloud of red smoke, as did the sword.

"David!" Snow White's eyes were wide and panicked, "You could have hit Draco! He's just a boy!"

"My aim was true and well, Snow." Prince Charming was scowling at where the Evil Queen had vanished. "Besides, I've done that move a few times to her in the past. It never works. But she's never taken my sword before… and I really liked that sword, too…"

"Oh, David…" Snow shook her head as she laid it on his chest. The two embraced as the wedding party began to erupt in loud chatter about the Evil Queen's threat.

* * *

"Well now, my evening has been spoiled. Damn that Regina." Maleficent turned on heel and was the first one to vanish from the wedding. Her son soon followed as they appeared back in their dark fortress.

"I'm more concerned with that dark promise of hers. You knew she'd be furious. What did you expect from her?" Harry asked as he sat in a chair while his mother stretched across her gold and obsidian chaise lounge chair.

"I knew she'd pull something, yes, but all that talk of stripping everyone of their happiness… There's only one way for her to pull that off before anyone has a chance to stop her." Maleficent allowed herself a few more moments to relax before she popped up and began to go down through her castle. Harry followed after her more like a dark knight instead of a noble prince. Her son was always too serious, but she supposed it was her own fault for constantly reminding him of his age and the many dangers their world had around every corner for a boy so young and powerful.

The most looming of which was the Dark One, but was quickly being replaced by Regina's foolish promise of the end of all happiness.

"You mentioned she only had one way of success. You know something, don't you, mother?" Harry caught up to her in the wing of the castle devoted to their magical arts. Her library, potions room, and various chambers dedicated to magic, both light and dark were all located in this wing of the Forbidden Fortress.

Her son was giving her that piercing emerald look. He would not stop until he had answers.

"Yes, son, I do know exactly what Regina needs to fulfill her promise." Maleficent made known as she smiled and moved pass her child.

"Then we should find your friend, and put an end to her nonsense. She threatens all of us, and you know how much I do not like to be threatened. Nor do I take lightly to those who threaten this family!" Harry temper was rising, as was the temperature of the corridor.

"Calm yourself, Harry. We don't need to locate Regina for anything. She will come to us of her own free will." Maleficent summoned her staff to her with a burst of flame. "After all, I am the only one in possession of a curse dark enough and strong enough to make her promise come true."

"That orb… it holds the curse." Harry quickly figured out, making his mother proud as she pinched his cheek.

"You are just too smart sometimes, my little dragon!" she cooed at him, but he whined about it and tried to slap her hand away. "Aww, does little Harry not like mama's praises. It's true, though! You've learned so well over the years. And so mature! Like a man of twenty instead of only ten."

"Mother, stop it!" Harry whined, trying to keep his face serious and firm, but with his mom pinching his cheeks and making baby noises at him, the young prince couldn't help but laugh.

Finally, Maleficent relented, standing up straight as she smiled sweetly down upon her son. "I truly do mean my praises, son. You have learned well in your studies, both mundane and magical. I don't think a mother could be prouder than I am of you."

"Mother, you embarrass me!" Harry's face was beet red, and Maleficent only laughed. "Besides, I had the best teacher to instruct my magic. Unlike that blond brat, I don't need the Dark One holding my hand through spells."

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times not to underestimate Rumplestiltskin. I've made that mistake a few times. He always has a way of weaseling himself out of trouble. His magic is strong, but it is his devious little brain you must be on guard for. He is by far the most cunning Dark One to ever claim the dagger. He even warned me that the day of the dark curse would come a decade after taking you in as a baby. Told me that I would be its final guardian. I laughed at him back then. Said I would destroy such a curse if it ever fell into my lap."

"Then why didn't you?" Harry asked, gazing upon his mother curiously.

"I've tried, but it is protected by magic itself, so only the one who created it can destroy it. And hiding it anywhere would be useless since Regina possessed it already. She could locate it no matter where I put it in all the lands."

"Then we subdue her when she comes for it." Harry stated, but Maleficent laughed.

"Regina isn't so weak, nor are you so powerful, my son. Not yet, at least. Besides, I would be too worried about your safety if I had to fight her for this bobble." Maleficent gazed into the glass orb of her staff. "No, there are other ways of getting around such a dark curse. Remember this well, my son. Powerful magic often overlooks tiny details. It is why my Sleeping curse can be undone with True Love's kiss, and why we shall undo Regina's dark curse with the loophole of someone else's work."

Harry was about to praise his mother for her intellect in the matter, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He narrowed his emerald green eyes and growled darkly as he felt the presence of uninvited guests in their dark castle.

"We have visitors already, mother." Harry simmered with barely contained fury that someone had dared to break into their fortress.

Maleficent smiled, already knowing exactly who the intruders were and their exact purpose in the Forbidden Fortress. Still, it would do her son well to go play with them for a while.

"Then go forth my son. Entertain our guests and yourself for some time. Bring them back to me without harm. Go, and do not fail me." Was all Maleficent said as her son vanished on spot in a burst emerald flame.

Maleficent turned to the dark shadows of her corridor. Her staff in hand, she narrowed her eyes at a darker than normal shadow. "You can come out at any time, ladies. My dear son, Harry, is going to greet your boys with all the hospitality of hell. In the meantime, I think the three Queens of Darkness need to raise a little hell of our own in preparation for Regina's petty curse."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, darling." In a sleepy whirl of green smoke, Cruella de Vil became visible to the naked eye in all her furs.

"Your boy may be strong, Mal, I'll give you that, but I think he'll find his match in my little Blaise." The shadows rose as tentacles crept out with the clicking of Ursula's heels.

"We'll just have to see," Maleficent smiled politely.

"Yeah, but Cruella's kid might die." Ursula pointed out, but Cruella only laughed as her cigarette wafted green smoke through the air.

"Darlings you've nothing to worry about! Honestly, you should never underestimate a girl in diamonds and furs. I've taught my son everything I know, and he's taught me quite a lot as well. My son can take on a fish and overgrown lizard any day of the week!" Cruella pointed her cigarette in the air dramatically. "One hundred gold bars on my son making pets out of your boys!"

"Easy money. All the gold in a sunken treasure chest on Blaise drown your kids." Ursula put forth without even blinking.

"Ladies, we shouldn't bet on our children fighting." But the smirk that Maleficent wore said another story. "A mountainous cavern filled with gold and gems that my son easily bests the two of your boys. And when I say easy, I mean just that."

"Then it's a wager, darlings! Let's get the champagne and make a day out of it." Cruella declared as she took her friends by the arms and walked with them toward the potions room. "I heard talk before arriving here that Regina went and did something at Snow White's wedding. You know how those bloody birds like to chirp on and on about this and that."

"Yeah, and you'll never believe what that woman has in store for all of us." Ursula began as she leaned over to the curious Cruella. "From what the ocean was telling me on my way here, there's a dark curse on the rise that no one in the Enchanted Forest can escape."

"And I possess it along with a way to avoid its power." Maleficent said as Cruella and Ursula smiled darkly.

"Well? Don't leave us in suspense! Do tell, darling. Do tell."

* * *

"There is no one in the west wing, your highness." A guard announced.

"And no one out of order in the yards, your greatness." Another said with his shoulders sqaured.

"Then search more! I can feel them. They can't have just vanished into thin air!" Harry roared while the guards cowered from his fury. "What about the east wing? The ballroom? The kitchens? The dining hall?"

"All searched, your excellency." A brave guard said as Harry focused his glare upon the man.

Harry forced himself to calm down. His mother often said that his dragon's rage clouded his judgement. But his fury was always just below the surface, and it burned so hot. Like a furnace in place of a heart.

"Be on lookout for any intruders to the castle! I want them found and detained! Go forth, and do not fail me!" Harry snapped at the guards, who saluted their prince and ran off to find the interlopers.

Blaise clung to the shadows as the patrols passed him by. One guard was posted at the door of the corridor that would see him escape into another part of the castle. He didn't understand why his mother wanted them to sneak around this dreary place.

A tentacle went out and wrapped around the man's neck before shocking him into a smoking near dead mess. It was quick and silent, and Blaise breathed a sigh of relief that he had not been discovered.

"And just who the hell might you be?" Blaise nearly jumped out of his skin when that voice growled behind him. He leapt away to discover his foe was a boy around his own age.

The boy's hair was as dark as the midnight hour, but it was messy and unkempt in a way that seemed purposeful. His eyes were emerald green in color, but Blaise couldn't shake the thought that those eyes seemed to glow, acidic and poisonous as they narrowed on him like a curse in waiting. His clothes were old-fashioned in design, but regal in style. He wore a black suit and a small grey cape draped over his left shoulder. Even the refinements adorning his suit looked very old, but royal and expensive. They were shimmering dark emeralds, as were the buttons of his suit and cuffs. The staff which this dark boy held tight in his right hand was as tall as he, made from a shiny black metal that clanged in quiet echo as he stamped it once to the stone floor of the dark fortress. Oddly enough, near the head of the staff, silver veins came bleeding out and up toward the top like streams meeting in a lake. The glittering silver gathered into a lion's head that held a toothy grip around a small fist-sized crystal orb. Blaise had to narrow his eyes to see, but it looked like tiny black devil wings inside the orb.

Blaise smirked at the boy. "I am Prince Blaise of the Caspian Sea, but you may call me your majesty!"

He thought he had taken the boy off-guard by unleashing his tentacles at him, but the boy raised his staff just in time to deflect them. As he winced at the pain of having his tentacles smacked, he willed them to wrap around the boy's staff and draw him closer. Strangely enough, the boy was far stronger than he appeared, and a game of tug-of-war commenced between the two.

"I will _never_ bow down to fish." The dark-haired boy sneered as his staff went red hot and Blaise had to let go because he was being burned. His tentacles receded, and he glared at the darkly dressed kid.

"I gave you my name. Who are you?" Blaise demanded as the young sorcerer stamped his staff once again. His eyes were finally taking in Blaise's appearance, and the sea prince stood a little taller to not seem intimidated by his opponent.

Blaise had dark skin just like his mother with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes. He was also tall for his age, but saw that this boy before him was just as tall. Blaise was dressed in sea-foam green with sea shells adorning his outfit as if buttons. His pants were darker, and his boots looked as if they had been taken straight from a dead pirate off the floor of the sea. On his forearms were two guards shaped to look like shark fins, and the same protected the back of his boots. All in all, Blaise knew he looked like a drowned pirate, but that had been at the suggestion of his mother, who told him to leave his princely attire at home for this trip. Gone were his glittering golden crown and chest plate.

"If you must know, I am Harry Potter of the Forbidden Fortress. _This_ _fortress_. The one you and whoever brought you along are _trespassing_ inside." Harry said with a disgusted look at Blaise's pirate appearance. "That also makes me the person, who you haven't knocked out, strangled or tried to impregnate. I don't know what those tentacles are for."

"I was invited here, as was my mother!" Blaise snapped, not liking the way this peasant was talking to him. He sent a blast of sea blue energy, but the boy stopped it with a wave of his hand.

"Invited guests normally don't have to sneak around and electrocute my guards." Harry replied dryly as he sent a roar of flames at the pirate boy.

"Then why did you send for us?" Blaise asked, hiding behind a pillar as the flames licked hotly through the air.

"Believe me, I did not send for sushi." Harry growled, then used his staff to send blasts of dark green power at the pillar. It slowly chipped away, but by that time Blaise was rolling out from behind it with an orb of water in his hand. The orb struck Harry in the chest, but quickly expanded to consume him.

Or at least it would have if it was not evaporated by a burst of fire from the young sorcerer. He was not even wet, though he and his clothes were steaming.

"Seafood wasn't on the menu tonight…" Harry growled lowly, his hair overshadowing his expression before he looked up. His eyes glowing in the dim light of the open hall. "But I think I'll make an exception this once."

Harry roared at Blaise, and he had to summon repetitive wave after wave of water in order to stave off the hellish flames that were sent from the boy's mouth.

"Dragon…" was all Blaise could mutter as the heat began to dry out his skin.

Blaise's eyes clouded as storm clouds began to gather in the room over their heads. Harry was so distracted by this that he stopped his onslaught of dragon flames to see what Blaise was doing. The storm clouds churned and rumbled before a bolt of lightning engulfed Blaise on the spot. Harry smirked, thinking the boy had been done in by his own magic, but that was not the case as Blaise stepped out of the remaining static with his eyes blazing, super charged by the electricity as it sparked in his eyes and hands.

"Well now… that's interesting," Harry commented before he raised his staff. The silver lion's head began to glow darkly, wafting off a midnight black power. "But I think I can match, if not top that."

"You should really learn some manners." Blaise said as he continued to give off static. "As I said, we were invited here by my mother's friend."

"I don't care. To me, you're trespassing." Harry spat back.

"Then what—?" Blaise started to yell before both he and Harry were taken by surprise as two beautiful Dalmatians came barreling toward them with all speed as they barked and growled. The dogs stopped just short of the two, lowering themselves into a pouncing position and baring their canines.

Harry raised his staff, and the dark power turned to flames as the lion head was engulfed in fire. Blaise stopped sparking as sea water began to rise from between the stones in the floor. Both boys were about to attack until someone joined them from the door in which the Dalmatians came running.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, darlings." The voice was male, but both Harry and Blaise were taken by surprise with what they saw.

The figure came into the room dressed in a long fur coat that appeared to be a freshly skinned Dalmatian dog. It was a boy, at least they thought it was. The first unusual sight about him was his salt-n-pepper hair that was as black and white as that of day and night. Not to mention the fact that Blaise thought he was wearing a just a touch of makeup to cover what he suspected were freckles. The boy's eyebrows and eyelashes were immaculately trimmed. His murky blue eyes were watching both with clear amusement and his lips were in a thin smile as his red gloved hands took off his fur cloak to reveal a black vest over a white formal shirt with a black tie and black pants. And… and… was that a short fur coat!

"Are you seriously wearing a fur jacket _under_ a fur coat?" Both Blaise and Harry asked in shock and confusion, before turning and glaring at the other. But they really couldn't blame one another. Wearing fur over fur was just too much. It boggled the mind. Even Harry felt a touch of heat stroke just thinking about it.

The dogs growled at them again, gaining their undivided attention once more. This time, Harry and Blaise turned to each other with looks of exasperation.

"Dogs? Really?" they both asked before they sighed, and each outstretched a hand at the two dogs.

The dogs leapt at them with jaws wide open.

Harry's hand fired a torrent of fire so hot that it turned the stones beneath it went from red to orange to almost white.

Blaise's palm crackled as a shot of pale lightning arched and forked in a mesh of static.

The two boys glared at each other again for their mirror-like movement, but then they heard the fur-wearing boy sigh as if bored and annoyed.

"Really, darlings?" the boy put a hand under his mouth and blew gently where a wave of green smoke came forth like a gust of wind. It blew away the flames and static, revealing his two Dalmatians completely unharmed and pissed off.

"Magic-restraint dogs." They both muttered, then glared once again at each other.

The boy dressed in the furs only smirked more as he put a hand on his hip. "Oh, there's much more than that, darlings."

Once again, he blew out that odd green smoke, but then dogs started to move in odd ways. Before their very eyes, the two Dalmatians morphed and grew larger until they became two beautiful bleached Bengal tigers.

"Ah." Harry nodded, though looked very annoyed.

" _Shape_ - _shifting_ magical-restraint dogs." Blaise finished, looked very annoyed himself.

The fur-clad boy smiled again at them, swaggering over to his pets and standing between them as he addressed the two boys in front of him. "Don't worry, they don't eat fish or dragon. Well, that is unless I tell them to…"

The boy opened his mouth, and once more the odd green smoke wafted off his breath to the two animals. Their eyes glowed briefly with the same sickly green color.

"Thank you, my lovelies, a wonderful job. Papa will take it from here." He said as he leaned to one side with a hand on his hip. "Now then, which of you two poorly dressed buffoons wants to tell me why my mother dragged me to this ghastly place?"

"A lovely question, because this _ghastly_ _place_ is my home and I didn't ask for any visitors." Harry spat back, but the fur boy didn't seem too interested in his answer.

"And who exactly are you? My mother said we were here for a dragon lady, not some overgrown gecko boy."

Harry's sneered so hard that flames came out of his curled lip. "Watch yourself, boy. I've destroyed lives for lesser transgressions."

"The name is not boy, you reject from the Dark Ages. I am Ronald de Vil, son of the greatest fashion- forward mind to ever exist! The one and only Cruella de Vil, my lovely mother." The fur-clad boy, Ronald, finally introduced himself.

"If that is her style of clothes, I'd hate to see what she dresses you in for your funeral." Blaise snipped, but Ronald glared.

"Listen here, Ronnie and Blaze." Harry said, and the two turned to him with their anger. "I'm beginning to feel a forgiving mood come over me because this has so far been mildly entertaining. Leave. Now. I'll overlook this entire ordeal and not kill you two if you make yourselves scarce in the next ten seconds."

Ronald raised his nose in the air, and Blaise crossed his arms.

"I'm not going anywhere. My mother is still here somewhere, and I want answers as to what the hell is going on." Blaise replied, and Ronald nodded.

"Yes, and I received specific instructions from my mother to entrain myself while she got caught up with the dragon lady. I'll not be leaving until my mother does."

"Then you will be my entertainment." Harry muttered darkly, and at his feet dark emerald flames began to slowly rise. Ron and Blaise backed away as even the two tigers sensed something to be afraid of on the rise. "I've not used this power since Prince Charming came to do battle with my mother. So, this is perfect. Flexing my magical might is always such a bother, because no one lasts very long. My mother is so busy, and I've killed servants for not being strong enough to fight me."

The emerald flames erupted straight upward, and Harry's figure was consumed in darkness as it transformed. "So now shall you entertain me, oh princes, **and all the powers of** _ **HELL**_!"

Blaise and Ronald were left wide-eyed and speechless as a dark shadow eclipsed them. Before even Ronald's tigers could react, they were all bathed in flames as black as midnight itself.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"AAAAAHHHH!"

" _ **AHAHAHAHA! WAHAHAHAHAHA**_!"

* * *

"What on earth was that, darling?" Cruella looked up from her glass of gin as the castle shook.

Maleficent smiled. "That would be my son losing his temper."

"No way is that… Why is it suddenly so hot in here?" Ursula began, but then started to fan herself as she felt her skin begin to dry out.

Cruella and Ursula looked to one another with uncertain expressions. They both got up from where they had been lounging in Maleficent's potions room and ran to check up on their sons.

Maleficent's laughter followed them all the way.

* * *

 **Aww, its so nice to see the boys growing up and playing nice with one another. Well... as nice as they can with their upbringings.**

 **What do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to throw lightning at it? Leave a REVIEW below to let me know!**

 **And always remember: ALL ARE WELCOME!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	8. Price of Planned Parenthood

**A/N: So, as you can probably guess, I played around with the timeline a little bit. The major events in their stories still happened, but with the addition of adopted children, some things were bound to change. I will try my best to make a timeline some time soon in order to show everyone exactly what has happened up to the Dark Curse being cast.**

 **Chapter 8: Price of Planned Parenthood**

* * *

Regina reappeared in her own palace and her son beside her. The sword that had been thrown her way, still flying on its path, pierced the wall behind her. Draco gave the sword an amused smile as he inspected it. He drew it from the wall with some effort, and made it vanish in a plume of red smoke.

The butler came speeding their way, a tray of drinks for the rulers of the kingdom.

"Would you like something to drink?" the valet asked, offering Queen Regina a glass of wine. Regina's hands were shaking, her expression the same as a terrible storm about to ruin a village.

"Do I look like I need a drink?" she snapped, but her valet was not so easily frightened. He placed the glass in her shaking hands, closing them gently around the cup.

"Yes. And don't you get snippy with me." He said with a soft smile, "I'm only here to help."

Regina relented just a bit, taking a sip of the wine to calm herself before a sigh escaped her.

"I know… and thank you." She muttered while looking down into her wine. "I still can't believe that moron threw his sword at me while my son was right there! Looks must be everything in true love, because that idiot has no brains or regard for children…"

"I am right here, you know." Draco reminded her while crossing his arms. "And if you had let me handle the situation, I would have turned that sword into a venom-spewing snake."

Regina turned to her son with a soft scowl, "And the Blue Fairy would have made it into streamers. Or bubbles. Or something equally ridiculous. You have power, my son, but you lack the forethought to make your magic truly impressive. It's not about showing your strength, but instead about undermining your enemy. Once you've taken that lesson to heart, you'll be someone to fear."

"I _am_ someone to be feared!" Draco retorted, fists now curling at his sides, "I am the Evil Prince, your son! I am your son!"

"Ugh, not you too, Draco…" Regina groaned, but her valet chuckled into his hand. "We are not _evil_ , son! My anger is toward Snow White alone!"

"Not anymore it's not." the Magic Mirror appeared on the wall not far away. "Especially not with what you just did at the girl's wedding. Now that was an awfully big threat. Destroy everyone's happiness? How do you plan on accomplishing that?"

With that again at the forefront of her mind, Regina smirked. "The Dark Curse."

"Are you sure, your Majesty?" the valet asked warily.

"But you said you'd never use it." The Mirror added hastily.

"You made a deal when you gave away that curse." Her valent reminded her.

"You traded it away." The Mirror tacked on.

" _She_ won't be happy to see you." The valet finished, but Regina scowled back at him.

"Since when have I ever cared about anyone else's happiness but my own? Prepare the carriage. I'm going to the Forbidden Fortress," Queen Regina commanded before stalking off. The valet bowed and went to ready the carriage. The Magic Mirror disappeared from the wall.

Draco was left standing there alone, blinking in confusion.

Then his confusion turned to anger as his fists clenched at his sides once again.

"Fine! Leave me without a clue!" Draco raged to no one, "Urgh!"

The blond prince kicked at the stone floor. "What the devil is the Dark Curse anyway?"

* * *

"I refuse to apologize." Harry stood firm, arms crossed with a scowl on his young face.

"You nearly roasted us alive, you fire-breathing chicken!" Blaise yelled, throwing his hands into the arm.

"Because you two were trespassing in my castle." Harry closed his eyes, ignoring the two boys in front of him.

"We told you plenty of times that we were _invited_ here!" Ronald snapped, red gloved clenched at his sides. "We told you that we and our parents were invited by your mother!"

" _To_ _me_ you were trespassing." Harry said with his nose in the air.

Blaise and Ronald looked ready to pull at their hair.

"I swear, arguing with you is going to give me split ends!" Ronald stamped a foot at Harry, who scoffed back at him.

"I told you not to harm them, my son." Maleficent was smiling from where she sat with Ursula and Cruella. The mothers couldn't help but be amused with their sons' bickering.

"They attacked me, mother. I had no choice but to defend myself and our fortress. Besides, they are still alive, aren't they?" Harry clarified as he walked over to the table with drinks and poured himself a glass of cider.

Maleficent turned to Ursula, "This is true, on both accounts. Your boy did attack Harry with tentacles. And might I add… isn't he a little young for that?"

"Hey, kids gotta start somewhere." Ursula shrugged, but she was mostly joking. "Besides, I do want grandkids before my hair turns gray."

"Mother!" Blaise blushed as the women laughed.

This time Ursula turned to Cruella with an amazed look. "I have to admit, though, 'Ella… I thought for sure your boy would die within five seconds flat. Never did I think you'd have a trump card like those two beasts."

The two beasts that the sea witch was referring to were currently in the form of two beautiful white ferrets that bit each other's tail. They hung from both sides of Ronald's neck like a long scarf. They were completely motionless and flat, almost as if skinned alive.

Cruella looked all too ready to receive praise where it was due. "Yes, well, it was mostly my little Ron-Ron's creation. He found out how to make them transform last summer while we were touring Italy. Those little beauties have been a big help whenever I need a dead animal for one of my models to wear. In more ways than one."

Maleficent and Ursula blinked.

"What's a model?" Ursula asked with wide eyes.

"What's an Italy?" Maleficent inquired, eyebrow arched.

Cruella rolled her eyes, but Ronald looked appalled. "Oh, you darlings really must get out of this dreadful forest more often. Take a road trip with me sometime. It'll open a whole new world for you."

"We just may be taking you up on that offer sooner rather than later." Maleficent said over her golden wine chalice. "What with Regina's big curse and all…"

"But there's no way she can get it from you." Ursula looked between her fellow Queens of Darkness before settling to gaze nervously at Maleficent. "Right?"

"Oh, there are a few ways she could push me into a corner." Maleficent swirled her wine. "But if it came to a fight, I'd win nine out of ten times. No, Regina has always been the tactical type, never relying on any one thing to accomplish her goals. Not to mention the fact that she's not even the real threat here."

"Rumplestiltskin." Cruella sneered, and Ursula sat down her glass to throw up her hands.

"Ugh, don't even say that name around me." Ursula shook her head. "The trouble that little man has caused—!"

"Is causing." Cruella put forth.

"And _will_ _cause_ in the foreseeable future is the real problem." Maleficent finished for them all as she stood from her chair and paced the floor. "Like his precious student Regina, Rumple is a cunning operator. He's the one who warned me of this curse, and I would bet _all_ my riches that he is going to see it completed one way or another. It's the only reason he would ask me of all people to prepare myself."

"Let's face it," Maleficent turned to her fellow mothers, "keeping the curse at bay is next to pointless. If Regina fails to acquire it from me, then Rumple will surely gift it to her whether I fight him, or he steals it out from under my nose. They may not even come for the damn thing in person, especially Rumplestiltskin. Last time he wanted something done that involved me, he sent Prince Charming in his place. No, what we need is a way to escape the curse unscathed."

"Then what will we do, darling?" Cruella glanced at her two friends. "My car only seats four, and we'd all drown going through the ocean portals."

"Not all of us." Ursula muttered, sipping at her drink. Cruella gave her a side glare.

"That's why I've spent the last ten years scouring the lands for just the right magical item. It, like many other mystical artifacts, was once in my possession. Sadly, that was several hundred years ago, and I thought I'd have no use for it ever. So, I gave it to a young magician who thought to challenge me and survived to tell about it."

"That was unusually nice of you…"

"I was in a good mood at the time. He was brave and handsome. Called himself the Apprentice and swore that his master would one day return the kindness." Maleficent scowled, "Still waiting on that day to come…"

"The point of all this mother." Harry said with an exasperated sigh. He hated when his mom went on and on about her past flames.

"The point, my beloved son, is that as of last month I finally know where the item ended up."

"And what item is that, darling?" Cruella leaned forward.

"The Crystal Atlas," Maleficent said, and everyone seemed interested by the name, "Otherwise known as the Map of Worlds. With it in our possession, when the Dark Cure hits the lands, we will be able to navigate it safely. And by we, I mean all of us. This curse is powerful. The ocean paths and crossroads are going to be distorted like never before by this spell. The only thing that might survive is an enchanted tree or two…"

"Well, let's just go chop down one of those and use it as a hood ornament." Cruella stood from her chair.

"You really don't visit the Enchanted Forest very much." Ursula shook her head as her son refilled her glass. "There are probably only one or two enchanted trees left and finding them before the fairies would be pointless. Only the best of Light magic can sniff those things out. Not to mention preserving the magic for it to work. Beyond impossible."

"Which leaves the Map of Worlds being far easier and suits our purposes better." Maleficent cut in with a smile. "Lucky for us, it is an old treasure, so most won't think of it immediately. And I've had a ten-year head start on tracking it down. While everyone else is scrambling to get themselves ready against Regina, we will be sitting pretty with the one thing that will make her little curse an easy ride for us."

"Why don't we just leave now?" Ursula asked, glancing up at Cruella. "We can still escape to another world. To Cruella's world."

"Cruella's land is a part of this realm. You of all people should know that. Just like the seven seas are part of this realm. And yes, that includes the Caspian Sea." Maleficent glared at the sea witch for being so forgetful about something so basic. "They exist on different levels from each other but are still connected. If one goes, _they_ _all_ go."

Cruella smiled cruelly at Ursula. "Don't forget that _Daddy_ _dearest_ is still very much on the lookout for you. One swish of those tentacles jumping to Oz or Neverland, and you'll be back home in chains before we could even say flounder."

"No one," Blaise sneered as he stood by his mother, "Not even my grandfather, will dare take my mother's freedom from her. Not again. My mother will not be used as a weapon."

"Thank you, baby," Ursula reached up, rubbing her son's arm.

Cruella and Ronald rolled their eyes at the sea royals.

"My son and I would have to resort to an old remedy if we wanted to cross worlds…" Maleficent muttered, more to herself than anyone. She sat back down in her chair, looking up at Harry as she continued. It was more like she was looking past him into something else. "We would be trapped in one form or the other. Human or dragon. It's always a toss up when these kinds of world-altering events happen. Anyways, it involves the use of a dragon's egg, and—"

"Mother!" Harry's voice went high and his green eyes were wide with shock. He crossed the room like lightning, sliding to be on knee by his mother's side. He held her hand tightly. "Absolutely not! I refuse! No, more than that! I outright _reject_ the notion of such an idea!"

"Relax, Harry, it never even crossed my mind." Maleficent ran a hand through her boy's hair. "Lilith will be safe and sound in all this. I promise."

"Aww, you're having a baby!" Ursula rushed over to her friend, knocking Harry out of the way as she hugged the dragoness.

"Already laid the egg, and just waiting for her to hatch. The little hellspawn is taking forever."

"Ugh, you've had a baby." Cruella seemed nauseous with the very idea. "Wasn't adopting enough for you? It certainly was for me…"

"Mother!" Ronald looked highly offended.

"Mommy loves you dearly, Ron-Ron. Kisses darling."

"Back to the point though while we're on the subject of children." Maleficent cut a look at everyone in the room. "Our children here will have to go for the Map of Worlds. If the three of us were on the move so earlier, then the entire Enchanted Forest would be on high alert. Luckily, our boys still have very low profiles. They shall find the map, and we all make off like bandits."

"And what exactly will we be doing in the meantime, darling?" Cruella simply had to ask.

"The three of us will be finding a couple heroes to light our way." Maleficent smiled, her staff flying into her hands as her eyes seemed to glow eerily.

* * *

 **Aww, its so nice to see the Queens of Darkness having a play date. Well... their version of a play date. If only Regina wasn't being such a _Regina_ (Mean Girls reference).**

 **What do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to throw lightning at it? Leave a REVIEW below to let me know!**

 **And always remember: ALL ARE WELCOME!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	9. Villains Meet Valor

**Chapter 9: Villains Meet Valor**

* * *

Snow White stood at the window, looking out over the kingdom she and her friends had built with their own hands. It was wonderous, she thought as she stroked her stomach, feeling her child kick. She soothed her child, whispering sweet words and smiled as a bluebird flew down. Snow held out a finger, watching as the little bird landed on it ever so nicely. Snow released the bird back into the air after it chirped a beautiful song to her. The forest animals loved to sing and play with her, but because of her heavily pregnant state, Snow White knew that she could not frolic the forest the way she used to. Never had that crossed her mind when she planned her child with Prince Charming. Snow had never thought of what the future might take from her back then.

But now, especially with Regina's threat of a dark curse to end all the happiness…

The fairest in all the lands glanced back into the room to see the waiting cradle, a glass unicorn mobile hanging above it. Everything was ready for the arrival of a new prince or princess but the Fairest of Them All simply could not shake the fear at the edges of her heart.

Behind her the doors to the room opened, and her husband of only several days now walked in with a smile. At least until he got a glimpse of her frightened expression.

"Snow…? What's wrong?" Prince Charming asked as he made his way across the room to his wife.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing," she denied, moving to stand before the elegant crib while trying to hide her face from her husband until she could appear cheerful.

"You're thinking about what the Evil Queen said again, aren't you? Snow, please… I can't keep having this conversation. You have to let it go! We're about to have a baby! There is literally nothing Regina can do to take that kind of happiness from us. I won't let her!" he wrapped his arms around his pregnant wife, feeling their child kick.

"I haven't had a restful night since our wedding…" Snow White admitted softly as she turned in David's arms.

"That is exactly what the Evil Queen wants, Snow! To get inside your head and stay there! But they're only words. She can't hurt us," he said, nuzzling in chin into the crook of his wife's neck until she pulled away from him to pace fretfully.

"That woman poisoned an apple because she thought I was prettier than her!" Snow White realized she was raising her voice, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, David, but you have no idea of what she's truly capable of doing."

"What can I do to ease your mind?" He offered with a charming smile and open arms.

Snow White bit her lip as she looked up at her husband. "Let me talk... to _him_."

Prince Charming blinked not once, but twice. "Him? Wait… You don't mean—? No. No, no, no. A thousand times no! Snow, there is no way I'd let you anywhere near—!"

"I have to do this, David. He's the only one in all the kingdom that might have answers for us as to what Regina has up her sleeve."

"No, honey. I love you. It's too dangerous."

"He sees the future. And if there is a future, then we need to make our best laid plans for it before Regina enacts her curse on everyone's happiness." Snow White clasped her husband's hand in her palms. "It's the only way."

David looked down at her with clear worry in his eyes and on his expression. "There's a reason he's locked up, Snow."

"Can you promise me that our child will be safe? Can you guarantee it without fail? Because he can. I've seen it done when he put little Draco in Regina's arms. He can provide that type of protection." Snow argued desperately, placing David's hand over their child again. "If not for us, David… then we have to do it for our child. Do it for the little princess… or prince that might make it out of Regina's wraith unscathed."

Prince Charming closed his eyes but then nodded slowly. "Alright. For our child. But I'm going with you."

"Nah," Snow smiled as she kissed her husband. "You'll just slow me down."

"I think the baby will do that enough, my love." Prince Charming hugged his wife close once again. "Which means that for once I'll actually be able to keep pace with you on an adventure."

Snow White snorted, "Yeah, we'll see about that."

* * *

Harry was glaring at a spot in the road as he walked down it in the middle of broad daylight. His dour black clothes weren't even getting hot in the sunlight, but he could feel himself burning inside. Though that was more to his rage than anything.

"I literally can't believe I'm forced to work with you two fools." He growled with his arms rigid behind his back as he turned on heel to glare hotly at his two cohorts.

Blaise had stopped for another drink of water and Ronald was fanning himself liberally even as he refused to take off his furs.

"Well excuse us, darling, but we're not all fire-breathing lizards that soak up the heat like a sun bath." Ronald sneered as he snapped his vanity fan closed and waved it threatening at Harry, who was a good distance ahead of them.

"This heat is unbearable." Blaise dowsed himself with his water and sighed in some relief. "Is the Enchanted Forest like this all the time? No wonder my mother never visits…"

"Unbelievable." Harry threw his hands into the air. "This is a mild day _at best_ , but my mission gets slowed down by two toddlers complaining about a little sun."

"Well there certainly wasn't this much sun back in London…" Ronald had his two white ferrets finally turn into one white stallion with a saddle. He tried to mount the horse, but nearly fell if not for Blaise catching him with a tentacle. "We mostly just got rain and overcast. We were lucky if the sun was shining bright even a few months out of the year."

"And the Caspian Sea is cooler by far. Even if we got sunlight, it was still cold water. My mother and I never really journey on land there." Blaise helped Ronald stand up, even as the fashionable boy complained about octopus slime on his furs. "These last few days are actually the longest I've been on land my entire life."

Harry facepalmed himself and tried his best to reign in his annoyance. They were each strong, he reminded himself. They just lack experience in this land. Blaise could summon forth storms and waves of water with a swish of his hands. Ronald's beasts could turn into any animal the salt-n-pepper-haired boy so desired.

His mother had also made him promise to at least be civil with them. He had pouted about it, but his mother pinched his cheek and told him it would be good if he made some friends.

Harry scowled. He didn't need friends. All he needed was his family. His mother and his soon-to-be baby sister. His original parents were already dead, and so his mom and sister would be all the family he had left.

His mother didn't really like to talk about his birth parents. She never knew them personally. In fact, she once admitted, she didn't even know what they looked like. All she knew was that they had given their lives to see Harry safely delivered to her and that she had taken one look at him and fell in love. His mother often told him that one day he would go to the school they went to. Harry didn't care about things like that. He wanted to stay with his mother and rule the Forbidden Mountain at her side. She pinched his cheek and told him there would be plenty of time for that when he was older.

Harry hated that. _Older_ , she said. He didn't need to be older to understand that she was trying to ship him off to some far away school that sounded like an unwashed farm animal. Pig Pen or Hog Smog or _something_ , he didn't remember. All he knew was that his mother was trying to force him to form a connection with his birth parents. And now she was trying to force him to connect with these two useless buffoons.

Ugh, he couldn't believe it, but he was actually starting to miss the servants and guards that would fall over themselves to help him on his missions wherever his mother sent him forth to accomplish her goals. _Their_ _goals_. His mother often spoke of them as a team. Of course Harry understood that logically every team needed a leader, and that was his mom. She laughed at him, saying that he would one day challenge her authority. He knew he would, but that would be a day far off in the future where his judgement was equal to hers. On that day, he would become the new leader of their team. And some day in an even further future, his baby sister would become their team leader as he stepped aside to see her reign come to fruition.

But as for now… He was made to play leader with one boy who couldn't keep himself hydrated like a fish out of water, and the other boy that couldn't even mount his own created horse.

Ugh, why was Harry Potter to be the laughing stock to the forces of darkness?

"Enough," Harry raised a hand and Blaise gasped as he felt his skin tingle for a second before it felt moisturized and cool. He looked down at his water sack and didn't feel thirsty or dry. Whatever Harry had just done to him felt like he just jumped from the water fresh as a sea bass the entire time.

And after a second, Harry had done the same for Ronald, who finally stopped trying to ride his stallion and simple turned it back into two Dalmatians that carried his long fur coat. Blaise raised an eyebrow at the fact that the boy kept on his short fur jacket, which made Harry face-palm himself once again.

"What did you do to us?" Blaise asked as he ran a hand over his opposite arm, feeling the way it was smooth and damp even with the sun beating down on them.

"A simple enough cooling charm my mother taught me long ago." Harry spoke through his barely parting lips, looking annoyed that they didn't know already. "One would think your mothers might have at least taught the two of you some survival skills."

"I can survive just fine." Blaise narrowed his warm brown eyes at the dark prince. "If we were at sea right now, I suspect that it'd be _you_ needing _my_ help; not the other way around. I have skills. They just aren't suited to some shabby enchanted forest I've only been to visit twice now."

"Yes, and who needs survival or skill when you can just throw money at all your problems," Ronald put forth with a shrug as he smiled down at his red gloves like he was checking his nails. "Though I hope you don't underestimate me again, darlings. We don't want a repeat of my babies coming out of the flames to devour you two."

Harry glared at the fashionable boy. "If I remember correctly, I nearly roasted the two of you alive."

"You caught me by surprise with that little trick. It won't work again." Blaise promised, but Harry was smiling darkly.

"Yes, and I do hope you try it again. Would love to know if my powers work on fire-breathing chickens just as well as normal creatures." Harry narrowed his emerald eyes at Ronald, who had to flail back in shock as the spot he was standing in erupted in a small fire.

"I don't need to transform to kill either of you. And trust me when I say: your suffering would last for days." Harry sneered at them before turning on heel and continuing down the road.

Blaise and Ronald looked at each other before making haste to catch up to Harry.

"Oh, he's so dark and dour. He really needs to lighten up, darling."

"Yeah, we were just joking around with him."

"Though he would make the loveliest pair of dragon-skin boots."

"Ooohh, that sounds great! But I like your gloves. Could you fashion me a pair of dragon-scale gloves if we were to just kill him right now?"

"Oh darling, I could make you an entire _ensemble_!"

"I can _hear_ both of you idiots!"

"We love you, dragon boy! We couldn't dream of doing this without you."

"Yes darling! Pay no attention to us at all! Kisses, darling, kisses!"

* * *

Prince Charming was undoubtedly nervous. He hated dealing with this man. Every time he encountered the guy, Charming was left with more to worry about than to be thankful for.

"When we reach the cell, stay out of the light, and whatever you do, do not let him know your name. If he knows your name, he will have a certain degree of power over you." the guard warned as they walked deeper into the caves and towards the single cell.

"Rumpelstiltskin." The guard called out as they went forward, "Rumpelstiltskin! I have a question for you."

Rumpelstiltskin giggled madly as he climbed down from cell bars like a monkey. The guards and the charming couple flinched back, not having expected him to be up there where no normal creature would have been.

Seeing that he had visitors, Rumple smiled at them. "No, you don't. They do. Snow White… oh, and _Prince_ _Charming_! My old friends! How are you? How have you been? Sorry I couldn't attend the wedding. I was a bit… well… _locked_ _up_ _here_. Heh, eheh!"

Their stunned looks sent him into a fit of insane cackling before suddenly sobering and staring at their cloaked forms. "You insult me. Step into the light, and take off those ridiculous robes." he ordered and they hesitated before lowering their hoods. "Ah, ha-ha ha... that's much better."

Prince Charming looked to the gold-skinned man with apprehension, "We've come to ask you about the—"

Rumple banged against the cell, making everyone jump back from him in surprise. "Yes, yes, I know why you're here! You want to know about the Queen's threat."

Snow White stepped forward, a hard look on her face. "Tell us what you know." she demanded.

Rumple only giggled back at her while wagging a finger. "Oh, oh, oh! Tense, aren't we? Fear not! For I can ease your minds! However… it's gonna _cost_ _you_ something in return."

David immediately began shaking his head as he grabbed Snow White by the arm. "No. We're not interested in making deals with you. I told you, Snow, this was a waste of time."

Snow White pulled away from her husband in order to approach the bars of Rumplestiltskin's jail. She stared at him squarely and the crazed imp matched her gaze. "What do you want?"

"Oh… nothing really. A trinket. A marble, really. Just… the name of your unborn child."

The horror in David's eyes was like seeing a rogue hold a knife to his wife's throat right in front of him. "Absolutely not!"

Snow was not on the same wave length, however, as she narrowed her eyes at the little man. "Deal! What do you know?"

"Ah. The Queen has created a powerful curse. And it's coming. Soon you'll all be in a prison, just like me, _only_ _worse_! Your prison—all of our prisons—will be _time_. And time will _stop_! And we will be trapped, someplace _horrible_ , where everything we hold dear, everything we love will be _ripped_ from us while we suffer for all eternity, while the Queen _celebrates_ , _victorious_ _at_ _last_! Meaning, dearies… no more _happy_ _endings_."

Snow White back away from the cell, so stunned by the information that it felt almost like a physical attack to her mind and body. "Wh-What… What can we do?" she whispered, and with unfocused eyes she saw that Rumplestiltskin was smiling at her.

" _We_ can't do anything!" he shouted gleefully, but everyone noticed the emphasis he placed on their inability to do anything. Which meant…

"Who can?" David asked, summoning all his courage and bravery to stand next to his wife in face of certain doom by the Evil Queen and even Rumplestiltskin.

Rumple reached a hand beyond bars, pointing precise at Snow's stomach where their unborn child was growing. "That little thing. Growing inside your belly."

Prince Charming drew his sword and slapped Rumpelstiltskin's hand with the flat side of it. The imp didn't even flinch. "Next time, I cut it off."

"Tk, tk, tk, tk, tk. The infant is our only hope. Get the child to safety. Get the child to safety and on its…" he closed his eyes to focus, " _twenty-eighth_ birthday, the child will return! The child will find you… and then… the final battle will begin!" he cackled again.

"We've heard enough. We're leaving." He pulled her away while Rumpelstiltskin whooped and cackled.

He noticed them leaving and began to act enraged. "Hey! No! We made a deal! I want her name! We had a deal! I. Need. Her. _Name_! I want her name!" he snarled demandingly.

David scoffed back at the golden-green skinned wizard briefly before attempting to leave again. "Her? Maybe you can't see everything. Our child is a _boy_."

"Missy, missy… _You_ _know_ that I'm right. Tell me, dearie… What's her name?" he cooed sweetly and Snow White stopped, hesitating in place before she turned back to look at him with a hand hoovering over her baby bump.

"Emma… Her name is Emma."

"Emma… Hmm, yes, good name." He whispered as the Charmings and their guards left him in darkness.

* * *

Sir Kay did not know what kind of beast had attacked him, but it was fast. The beast had pierced him in the shoulder with its strange tail, causing him immense pain. If he could reach his shield, he could defend himself properly from it.

But his fellow knights… that was another matter entirely.

Sir Kay needed help, and there was only one way he could think to get it.

He closed my eyes.

"What are you doing, darling?" the monochromatic-haired boy sounded very amused, evidenced by the smile on his face. "Praying won't help you any in this situation."

"Just keep moving!" the dark-skinned boy barked at him, and Kay was sharply shocked again by the lightning arching off his fingers.

Kay opened his eyes and kept shuffling forward.

"I say again!" Kay fought hard against the rope binding his hands behind his back. "I am Sir Kay of Camelot, and you children will release me! By the grace of King Arthur, do as I bid thee!"

"I serve no King Arthur and have never heard of him." The dark-skinned youth scowled.

"And I don't do monarchies. Much too drab with all the beheadings," the fur-wearing child rolled his eyes.

Kay watched in horror as he and his three fellow knights were herded through the forest like a pack of animals. And by two children, no less! His shoulder ached from where he was stabbed by the beast, which had now disappeared right before the two boys had come and tied them up. The wind blew through his ripped chainmail and clothes, so cold that Kay felt like an icicle.

"There is a clearing ahead," the white and black-haired boy said, "Harry should be able to see us from there."

"What in the name of… where are you taking us?" Sir Ian demanded.

"Silence, you insufferable land-lovers!" the dark-skinned boy snapped back.

"Don't talk that way to us, sea spawn! If my brother were here, he'd have you strung up on a fishing line!" Sir Nathan said, voicing quivered, but still Kay was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all after their run in with the beast. It was Sir Nathan's first mission as a knight of the Camelot and his first time leaving their lands.

"We have no quarrel with you children." Kay tried again. "We only seek the holy treasure. Release us at once!"

The boy dressed in furs snapped his fingers, and there came a great growling sound from beyond the veil of trees.

It most certainly _was_ _not_ human.

The sound made the hairs stand up on the back of Kay's neck, but he forced himself to keep walking and pretend to be compliant captive.

"Halt," the dark-skinned lad in pirate clothes commanded as the woods had opened up in front of them.

Kay saw that they'd reached an open space where the trees had been cleared in order to make room for camping or possible settlement.

Nathan stumbled, and Kay caught him.

"Thanks," the younger man murmured.

"What are these lads, Sir Kay?" Ian whispered. "Do they control that beast? Or is it their master?"

"I'm still puzzling that out myself, Sir Ian."

"But even still, mates, they are but boys. Even with our hands bound, we should have little trouble dispensing them." Nathan mumbled. He was fiddling with something behind his back—a toy of some kind.

"Stop talking!" the fur-coat boy snapped, and then literally snapped his red-gloved fingers.

A flicker of movement behind him in the forest, and a sharp projectile whistled so close to Nathan that it nicked his ear. Something had sprung up behind the boy—like a catapult, but more flexible… almost like a tail.

"Unfortunately," the pirate boy said with a roll of his eyes, "you three are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Sir Ian demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We are noble knights! Our lives will be forfeit before you see some single pence! Long live King Arthur!"

"Aww, isn't that cute," the boy in furs said while straightening his jacket. "Do not worry, little knights. You will be meeting our friend soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new look on life."

"Try if you dare, you twisted children!" Nathan spat as he narrowed his eyes. "I doubt you'd be so brave without your beast! Release us!"

The fur-wearing boy's mouth twisted with distaste when Sir Nathan brought up the monster that was lurking just beyond the tree line. Even now, Sir Kay could feel it leering at them with predatory instinct.

"Silence yourself, fool! You've no idea what is happening! Your lives are not what we desire. Only your light." The dark-skinned lad sneered.

"Our light?" Kay echoed in confusion, then looked out toward the distance where a massive dark shadow was sweeping fast toward them from over the horizon.

The dark shadow dropped into the forest with surprising swiftness, and into the clearing walked a dour-looking boy with messy raven hair and striking green eyes. His was dressed in black imperial clothing and held a dark staff with a silver lion's head tight in his grip. The boy stood like a man if Kay ever knew one. His stride was firm in pace and strong in step as he approached them.

The fur-coat lad looked happy to see this dark stranger. "Ah, there you are darling! Did you get what you went back for?"

The dark-haired boy looked vaguely annoyed with something. "Yes. It would have been better if my mother had told me about this little snag in our plans, but luckily we have the means of overcoming such an annoyance."

The darkly dressed lad turned to them, his emerald green eyes narrowing as he took them in. It was then that Kay noticed the boy held an object in his off hand. It was some sort of mirror in grasp.

"You come from the forbidden mountains." Nathan said, eyes wide and mouth trembling. He was afraid, but Kay could not understand why Sir Nathan, a young and normally brash knight, was so suddenly scared. "Your attire reveals the truth of your evil nature, dark one. I've heard legends about that place. My gran used to tell them all the time from her imprisonment in the dungeons there. Said there was a dragon who ruled over entire land keeping it in a constant state of darkness."

Now Kay understood. There had been old wives' tales of the Forbidden Lands, a place so steeped in evil and darkness that it had warped the very area into a twisted parody of itself. It was said that many years ago the dragon who ruled over all in the shadows of the Forbidden Mountains had burned all the land into cinders. Nothing grew in the soil. Those that lived there did so in fear of their lives every day. The fear of that monstrous dragon descending from on high to end their mortal lives in a raging inferno of hellfire.

Kay never thought much of those old stories his grandparents used to tell.

After all, why would anyone live in the shadow of some dark and spooky mountains when they could live in the bright fair-weathered Camelot?

"Your grandmother's legends," the boy smirked, "were all true, fair knight."

The boy moved around the edge of the clearing in a slow pace. "In fact, you should feel honored to give your light to us. It is not every day I find myself in need of such noble warriors as you men."

Nathan made a growling sound at the back of his throat, but then another projectile launched from the beast in the forest and he was silenced.

"Now, now, darlings." The fur-wearing boy warned with a wag of his finger. "Just stand still a bit longer, and we'll be done with you lot."

"But why us?" Kay asked, just to keep the children talking. Nathan had some sort of wooden toy that he was using to cut his binds and then there was the fact that Kay had yet to figure out what these three kids were up to.

"There is a dark curse coming to sweep the lands of their happiness." The darkly dressed boy with his lionhead staff informed them. "We seek a way of subverting it. But in order to open the way, we must first have the light of true chivalry to guide our path."

"Yes, and we seemed to be fresh out of nasty little good-doers where we're from, so we decided to pop by into new territory to borrow a bit of sugar." The boy in the Dalmatian fur coat smiled devilishly.

"What becomes of us?" Sir Ian asked in horror.

The pirate-dressed boy shrugged with little care. "Honestly? We don't know."

Sir Nathan ripped free of his binds, bringing shock to the faces of their young captors. "We are knights of Camelot, not sheep to the slaughter. You have erred greatly this day, little brats!"

Kay had to throw his body into Nathan as the boys were only taken by surprise for a split second. The beast in the forest threw a volley of missiles that zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave Nathan a chance to cut Kay free, to which he was grateful.

Kay, himself, made short work of the ropes on Sir Ian. He rolled to his feet and freed his sword in one swift fluid motion. Sir Ian and he had been working together for the better part of three years. They were practiced hands at reading each other's intentions. Ian presented his tied hands, and like a knife through hot butter, Kay sliced through the binds.

Now with them all working together, the three knights freed their shields and Nathan took up his spear with war cry.

"FOR CAMELOT!" he roared as he charged the enemy.

If you've never seen Sir Nathan run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. The reason young Nathan was knighted had little to due with nobility and much do with his ability to charge without fear into insurmountable odds. The fire in his eyes was enough to turn even veteran warriors to mush in their boots.

Even the fur boy and the pirate both winced when they saw it.

The dark boy from the Forbidden Mountains only growled back in challenge.

The pirate boy threw up his hands, and a wave of water crashed over Sir Nathan. It knocked him back and off his feet, but the young knight rolled with the motion before flying at the dark-skinned lad. When Nathan was finally within range, Kay was sure the boys would hit the ground in agony. Nathan swung wide at their heads, but the dark-haired lad snarled and swatted the spear away with his staff. Then the mirror faded into dark smoke before something else took its place.

It was a sword. The emerald-eyed boy began matching Sir Nathan blow for blow in an incredible display of combat prowess.

Sir Kay had allowed himself to be distracted by the boy's potential, and lost track of the two others. Both other boys had moved to opposite sides of the clearing.

The fur-wearing child gave a sharp whistle by putting two fingers to his lips. And finally, the beast was revealed. It had the body that of a huge lion with a long leathery, spiky tail that whipped deadly thorns in all directions. It dug its giant dirty white paws with enormous claws into the ground.

The monster roared as it launched another volley of missiles at Sir Ian from it's a dirty white leathery, scorpion-like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Ian's shield, but the force of their impact knocked the man down.

"Damn thing is a manticore!" Ian said, now back on his feet.

Kay sprang forward to his side, and his sword whirled to keep the beast at bay and in one corner of the clearing. The more they backed it to one place, the more manageable their battle would be.

"Not that one, you idiot! Get the one behind him! Now!" the fur boy snapped, and the monster shook its mane before leaping into action.

The monster pounced across the clearing onto Sir Ian's shield, claws sparking against the metal as he held strong. If it hadn't been for his shield, Ian would've been sliced like a freshly baked cake. As it was, he managed to roll backward and land on his feet.

There was a massive shift in the air as shadows fell over them with the rumble of thunder.

"Magic," Kay muttered in shock as he watched the boy in pirate garb create storm clouds overhead while water began bubbling up at his feet. "The boy's a sea witch!"

Lightning dropped down on the boy, but it curved into his hands. He threw a bolt at Kay, but he was quick enough to deflect the magical element with his shield. Thankfully all their weapons were blessed by the Tree of Wisdom back in Camelot which made them effective against all evil and highly restraint to magical attack.

Kay dug his heels in as the sea witch boy launched another attack at him, this time trying to fry him into cinders on the spot. Kay's shield stood strong against the forks of lightning which uprooted the ground around him.

"Get down!" Ian shouted as he clashed his shield against his sword, creating a large flash of light as he struck the sun symbol on the front of his shield. The lightning ended from the dark-skinned lad and the beast howled on the opposite side of the clearing.

Kay heard a thwack and a yelp, and Nathan landed next to him with a thud.

"Yield!" the boy in dark militant clothing sneered.

"Never!" Nathan yelled from their side, across the field. His clothes were smoking as he patted away flames.

Nathan charged at the boy again, but the lad allowed his sword to disperse into black mist. He raised his staff, and for a second, Kay thought Nathan would actually—and accidentally—run the child through on his spear. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of acidic green light from the dark-haired boy. Kay watched in horror as the light trapped Sir Nathan, rooting the young man to the spot.

Then it pierced him, and Sir Kay felt as though he were held by iron hands from head to toe. The light went next to Sir Ian, who tried to raise his shield to protect himself, but the manticore swatted it out of his hands with its enormous paw.

"No!" Sir Nathan struggled hard against the magical light. "Release us!"

"I tried to best you with some honor," the dark-haired boy growled as his two cohorts joined next to him, "but that was a mistake. There is too much on the line for such nonsense on my part."

The boy cast aside his staff, and it went far away before stopping to hover mid-air. He raised both hands to the sky, and the mirror from before appeared in a flash of light. The mirror glowed briefly, and then a golden light came down from the sun. It struck the mirror and then reflected onto all three knights where they felt themselves grow weak as the light invaded their hearts. Their swords glowed with the same light before all rising as if on invisible strings. The swords flew together and clashed at the points before gathering all the light to one single point between them. This revealed a silver door, and the spectacle ended, making the three knights drop to the ground in faint agony.

The mirror in the boy's hands cracked and shattered into a golden shower of dust. It seems the device had served its purpose, and could only do so once.

"They live," the dark-skinned boy said with some surprise. He and the one in furs blinked down at them before grinning. Together they raised their hands, each wafting a different misty color. The pirate boy's hands were the color of seafoam. The fur-wearing boy's hands were looked like sickly green smoke.

"We can fix that, darling." The fur-wearing boy said with excitement dancing in his eyes.

"I think not, foul ones." Came a new voice to the clearing, and Kay was so relieved to know it was one he was familiar with.

The three boys turned toward the new arrival. The dark-haired one stopped inspecting the silver door to see a dark-skinned kid around their own age in sorcerer robes. He looked tall for his age, and had big ears, but the silver shine in both his palms spelled out clear danger to them. His robes were intricately designed with golden archaic symbols in their dark blue fabric.

"Young mage! Help us!" Ian cried out.

"It's what I came for. Good for calling me, Sir Kay. The sea witch and dragon sorcerer are much too powerful for you knights. Even with your experience and their age, it would have been impossible for you to win."

"No one is leaving here alive." The pirate-clothed boy sneered.

"Well, except us at any rate." The fur-wearing lad said with a sharp smile.

Together the two turned their powers on the young mage. A wave of acidic smoke and a shaft of lightening raced toward the wizard. He shook his head as in an explosion they met right in front of him. Kay felt his heart drop.

Had he just been the death of Camelot's future?

Thankfully in the next moment he was proven wrong as the sound of a bell being struck rang out through the clearing. The dust and debris occurring their view was blown away by a magical gust of wind to show that the young mage had protected himself using a silver shield summoned from out of thin air.

"Yield, witches." The dark blue-dressed mage said as the shock on their faces turned to hatred. Even the dark-haired boy called for his staff before gripping it tightly with a look of clear annoyance. "I am Dean of Camelot, Sorcerer Apparent. I am an obstacle you cannot overcome."

The two boy witches looked at each other, their hands glowing even darker than before, as if to say that what they had thrown Dean's way earlier had been mere child's play.

"Again, Blaise?"

"Of course, Ronald."

The two boys raised their hands again, and this time there was a great gush of power from them that sent out a shockwave. Dean turned and was gone in a whirling of his robes as the spot he stood was reduced to a smoldering crater.

"Where did he go?" Blaise growled.

"There!" Ronald pointed, but the look on his face turned to horror as Dean was using some manner of magic to turn his manticore into two harmless puppy dogs. "NO! My babies!"

Ronald's hand snatched back, and the two dogs turned into white ashes that soon become a scarf around his neck. "How dare you trifle with my things!"

"I did not want them used against me." Dean said simply before quickly using his hand and a burst of power to deflect a lightning bolt thrown his way into the sky.

Dean's hands began to glow silver yet again, but this time runes were visible as he pointed his index and pinky fingers at Blaise and Ronald. His eyes turned silver as the energy filled his body. " _Heirs to darkness, be thou enchained_."

"No!" the dark-haired lad roared, and flames came from his mouth that raced at young Dean. A bubble encircled the young mage, protecting him from harm and heat. "Stop him!"

But they could not. No matter what dark powers or elements they threw at him, Dean's barrier held strong and his spell continued unabated.

" _Thy power to child's strength restrained, till business be done and issue known, our battle won by craft alone_."

Blaise's palms lost all electric charge and Ronald coughed as the green smoke left him to dissipate in the air. "Harry? Wh-What the _hell_ did that fashion-reject just do to us?"

The darkly-dressed Harry could only snarl as his staff's power was gone, evident by the way he pointed it at Dean, but it refused to shoot fire or energy at the mage.

"He has stripped us of our greater powers." Harry sneered as he made his staff disappear in a show of black smoke. "No matter. I have minor spells of my own. _Branch and root, twig and vine, strike with your master's wrath divine_!"

Harry's eyes glowed a dark green as thick black thorns burst from the ground and wrapped around Dean's legs.

" _Flames conjured from day's heat, burn into my foe the message of his defeat_!"

Dean disappeared as the clearing grew overwhelmingly hot and fire slowly sprang up around him. He reappeared behind Blaise and Ron, waving a hand at the trees as three sprang to life. The one that ran at Ron left him screaming like a girl as it grabbed him with its branches and then rooted itself to the spot. Meanwhile, Blaise summoned a small orb of water before using it like a whip. He somehow managed to make the water whip cut off every branch that came his way before reforming the water into an icy spear that he threw at Dean, who vanished and reappeared beside the knights.

Harry only looked at the tree that came his way before it was set aflame and reduced to ashes mere inches in front of him. Sir Kay noticed that the boy refused to move even a foot from his position in front of the silver door. Kay also took notice of the fact that the silver door was starting to look transparent as he felt his strength returning to him.

"You are one pesky little magician, kid." Blaise scowled at Dean, making waves of water that Dean turned away from him and the knights. "What Gods did you have to pray to gift you strength enough to strip a sea witch's powers from them? Was it Zeus? Do you bow before that overblown wind bag? Or maybe it was an older entity? You seem to like light a whole lot."

"I pray only to one God. And he had nothing to do with my magic." Dean said as he used both hands to stop the onslaught of gushing waves coming his way.

"Well, I hope you can pray to him as I drown you on dry land." Blaise said as he took a deep breath before vomiting a tsunami wave.

"Merlin, help me…" Dean muttered before throwing his hands out and with an incantation opened a void in the middle of the clearing between him and Blaise. The tsunami wave was poured right into the tear of space and time. It shocked Blaise so much that he stopped throwing up sea water only to stare at Dean in fear.

"You… Wh-What _are_ you?" Blaise backed away a few steps in fear. Dean's face was now covered in a sheen of sweat, but he looked proud of himself and more than ready to continue the fight.

"I am Dean of Camelot." The young mage proclaimed, and his hands shined brightly with silver again, "Sorcerer Apparent!"

With one blast he knocked Blaise back into the tree that trapped Ronald, now trapping both boys and holding them tightly.

Dean's breathing was ragged now, hands on his knees as he took a moment to collect himself.

"Watch out, little mage!" Ian shouted, and Kay turned just in time to see Dean dance away from the spot he was previously standing. The spot being struck with a dark green blast that made it burst into flame.

There was still one.

Harry of the Forbidden Mountain.

Harry stood in front of the silver door looking particularly furious. The vein in his forehead was throbbing and the lightning bolt scar on his forehead seemed to look as if it would burst at any second. Harry threw both his hands over his head and began collecting power. The force of his massive magical might was such that Sir Kay, who had not a drop of magical talent in his bones, felt his hair stand on end as it gathered in the air. The skies began to darken, and storm clouds roared with thunder.

"Bigger…" Harry sneered, and the mass of dark green and black energy began to congeal into an orb similar to that of molten glass. It was like the mixture of water and oil bubbling over the lad's head. And still it increased in size.

"Bigger." The orb went from the size of a horse to that of a house.

"Bigger!" it became the size of mountain troll.

"BIGGER!"

Kay and his fellow knights gasped as dark power grew to an enormous size that overshadowed them all in the clearing.

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Harry roared, and looked ready to make do on his promise.

Dean stared up at the ball of power in horror. There was nothing he could do to stop something that strong. "Merlin… save us…"

Dean shook his head and started muttering to himself. Slowly a silver dome rose around them as he prepared. Around the dome formed a pyramid. Around that a cube. Dean could only hope that it was enough as his eyes took on the silver glow again. He began strengthening the shields with borrowed power.

Blaise and Ronald looked at their cohort in terror.

"Stop, Harry!"

"You'll kill _us_ , too!"

Sir Nathan began to pray, hands clasped together, and head bowed.

But, thankfully, it was all for naught. Harry seemed to take a few measured breathes as he let the ball of power reduce itself in size. He was hesitating, but to Sir Kay it looked to be not out of concern for their lives, but more as a practiced measure. The boy was counting between taking deep breathes. He was opening and closing his eyes. The congealing mass of dark energy was now completely gone as the sorcerer boy from the dark mountains looked at them all with cooled fury.

He crossed his arms over his chest as Kay had once seen of a vampire resting before he and his fellow knights had killed the dark creature. The energy from before, which Kay had thought disappeared, started to be drawn back into the boy like a magnet.

"Anger… has clouded my judgement…" Harry said, clearly to himself as he closed his eyes one last time only to open them with a glare pointed their way. "Leave this place with your lives. _Now_. I will not be so merciful twice."

Dean apparently didn't need to be told twice as he grabbed Kay's shoulder. Kay understood immediately as he grabbed an arm on each of his fellow knights.

Right before they disappeared in a whirl of silver smoke and light, Dean looked directly into the eyes of Harry. They seemed to have an entire conversation of mutual reluctance.

But Kay understood one thing.

They agreed that their battle was not yet over.

* * *

"You let them go." Blaise stated in a bewildered tone as he freed himself and Ronald from the tree. The moment Ronald felt his powers return he had his two creatures morph into a white elephant and knock over the tree. The white elephant stomped the tree into splinters mere moments later.

"Those fools were not our objective here. And as you can see," Harry gestured to the door he had been guarding. Blaise could see right through it now. Ten minutes ago, it had been as solid as the trees around them, but now it looked ghostly, like an illusion. "We are losing precious time. Let's go."

Harry grabbed the door's handle even as he could see his own fingers on the other side. Thankfully, when he opened the door, everything on the other side of it appeared whole. It was a long corridor lined with treasure and jewels.

"Oh, darling," Ronald breathed. "This almost makes up for all that foolishness earlier."

"This has to be a trick." Blaise said, eyeing a jewel-encrusted sword suspiciously.

"This is the Hall of Valor. Quite literally a hallway for those that show great courage and kindness in the face of evil." Harry explained. "Only when the light of truly chivalrous knights is reflected in a magic mirror can the door to this place be opened. The only other places that connect to this are the Cave of Wonders and the Island of Avalon."

"So how did your mother hear about this place?" Blaise asked as he slapped Ronald's hand away from a pile of diamonds.

Harry noticed Ronald's greed and rolled his eyes. "Take whatever you want. This place is supposed to only be revealed to those that have only the purest of intentions in their hearts. It is a vault for the needy. One that kings and wizards of noble deed use to help the poor. We aren't meant to be here. Only the good and honest are meant to step foot here. Take whatever your hearts may desire. I have no interest in such poultry possessions. Only one thing here that holds my interests."

Harry locked his gaze upon the crystal orb that rested atop a velvet red pillow. The hurry in which his hands snatched the object gave away how desperate he was to save his family from destruction. The moment it was in his hands, Harry turned on heel and was heading for the exit. Ronald and Blaise were too busy pilfering the riches of the corridor to even notice. Ronald was currently watching with glee as his white elephant swallowed entire mounts of treasure with no discomfort or effort.

"Our business here is complete. The door is fading fast, and so I suggest we take our leave of this place." Harry announced while striding past his two companions, who looked up from their plunder. "That is… unless you wish to become permanent residents of this corridor. It has no end and the only exit is this door. Oh well, take your time…"

Blaise and Ronald made a hasty run for the door, and only barely got out as they dove through while it was fading out of existence.

"Well now, that was dramatic…" Ronald groaned while picking leaves and dirt from his fur coat. "That little trinket had best be worth my dry-cleaning bill."

Harry had no idea what dry-cleaning was. "Oh, it well is. I can already sense the magic within… It's incredible."

Ronald and Blaise gathered around him, crowding his shoulders as they each gazed into the clear crystal.

Harry saw an old man in multicolored robes wink back at him.

Ronald saw a girl with flaming red hair smile sadly as she looked up to him.

Blaise saw a woman smirking sharply at him as she crossed her arms lavishly.

"Just what the hell is this thing?" Blaise asked, leaning back and away from the woman who was staring at him with a calculating look in her eyes.

"That," a new voice popped up as the orb vanished from Harry's hand in a tiny whirl of red smoke. "would be mine."

Harry's empty hand clenched immediately into a fist as he locked eyes on the newcomer. It was a new boy who was blond of hair and dressed like a pompous little prince. His clothes were a rich plum color assented with apple red accessories, and his coat's collar was unreasonably high.

Harry cared about none of this as he narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Kill him!"

"But the crystal…" Ronald hesitated and so did Blaise as they exchanged worried looks.

"We could very well destroy it along with the little blond weasel…" Blaise muttered, and Harry silently raged while looking up at the stormy heavens.

"Ugh, I'm surrounded by imbeciles…" Harry groaned, head in hands as the blond boy tutted at them.

"You've got nothing to complain about. _I'm_ the one who had to watch and follow you fools here once I realized you were on the same quest. Waiting around for you monkeys was the hard part. But thankfully you took care of every obstacle for me after that." The blond prince smirked at them cruelly. "The knights. That weird wizard kid. Even went into that strange little place and hand-delivered my queen-mother's crystal ball right into my waiting hands.

The blond prince held up the crystal, taunting them.

"That is more than a simple crystal ball you dullard." Harry snapped, flames licking at his lips as he barely contained his fury. The blond shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. Nor do I really care. My queen-mother and her advisor revealed it as a key item. I have seen fit to retrieve it. What my mother wants, she _gets_. Just like me."

"Okay." Ronald rolled back the sleeves of his fur coat and jacket. "Now we definitely kill him. Then we drop his hollowed-out corpse at his mother's feet. I hate Mommy boys."

Blaise rolled his eyes and static crackled between his fingertips. "Like you're one to talk. But agreed."

"Finally, we're all on the same page." Harry threw his arms into the air. "Now, I say again… _Kill_ _him_!"

Blaise, Harry, and Ronald raised their hands in unison, but the new boy, who was blond of hair and dressed like a pompous little prince, only laughed at them.

"Well, it certainly has been a lovely chat. Thank you again for the crystal ball, my dear friends. Truly you are the best I'll ever know. Ta, ta!" he said before vanishing in the same red smoke; Crystal Atlas in hand.

"ARGH!" Harry roared, and from his mouth came a geyser of flames that scorched the heavens above. The sky boomed with the crack of thunder as lightning flashed.

Despite the thunderstorm and rain now coming down on their heads, all the three boys could hear in their ears was the pompous laughter of the blond prince.

"Wh-What the…?" Ronald looked around in the rain even as he conjured an umbrella to shield him from the elements. "Where is he?"

"I don't know." Harry was too busy pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Blaise stomped at the ground as he cursed. "Where did he disappear to? We have to find him!"

"Calm yourself, Blaise." Harry said mildly.

"Calm myself?" Blaise turned his glare on Harry. "That little sea urchin has the Crystal Atlas! Our Crystal Atlas! We failed, coal-breath! Argh, if I could just get my hands on that lily-livered land-lover! Why, I'd haul him up by his entrails!"

Harry gave Blaise a deadpan look. "Someone takes the pirate theme a little too far…"

Blaise grabbed him by the collar of his militaristic royal suit. "Look here, lizard-brains. I don't know you, and you _certainly_ don't know me. I lived on a pirate ship for a good portion of my life."

Harry smacked Blaise's hands off him, making steam rise off the darker boy's skin. "And I don't particularly care. Maybe if you two buffons had taken any of this seriously from the start, he wouldn't have gotten away!"

"Who was that blond tart anyway?" Ronald de Vil asked with a hand on his hip.

Harry turned on heel with a shake of his head. He started to exit the clearing with Blaise and Ronald exchanging glances before following him.

"That blond tart as you put it was Queen Regina's own son, Draco Mills, heir apparent to her throne. I can only guess that Rumplestiltskin had some knowledge of the Crystal Atlas and saw fit to whisper it in the Queen's ear."

"But I thought your mother was the only person who knew where it was?" Blaise inquired as thunder boomed overhead.

"There are ways the Dark One could have figured out about the object. Maybe someone my mother tracked down talked to him. Maybe he was keeping tabs on her movements outside our kingdom. Who knows. It's not important right now."

"Then what is important, darling?" Ronald pouted. "We've failed. That badly dressed fairytale reject has the crystal and we're all going to end up just as trapped in Queen Regina's curse as Snow White and her happy little lot."

Harry turned back to his two cohorts with a smirk on his face. "Who said Prince Draco had the _real_ Crystal Atlas?"

And with a twist of his hand, in a whirl of dark emerald smoke appeared the Crystal Atlas making Blaise and Ronald gasp in shock.

"You—But—How?" Ronald said, inspecting the orb closely while casting fleeting glances up at Harry.

"This is what I mean. You both whine about the outcome, but you care about it too late." Harry shook his head at them. Even as the rain came down in sheets, he was perfectly dry. Every rain drop that came within in inch of him seemed to fizzle out into steam. "You didn't prepare for the journey. You didn't take the knights seriously. You allowed yourselves to be defeated by that Dean of Camelot boy even as you fought him two against one. Did you honestly think I would let our whole mission's objective be snatched from my hands after everything we went through to get it? Especially with it being almost literally life and death to my family's survival?"

Blaise and Ronald both looked perturbed by the lecture they were receiving from a boy their own age.

"And what about you?" Ronald again put a hand on his hip. "Just because you act all dour and drab doesn't make you any more serious than us. We have a little fun, so what? It's not like all your scowling and fire-breathing is what kept Blondie from obtaining the crystal from us. Underhanded trickery doesn't make you better."

"It makes me smarter." Harry turned back to the path and continued their chat while walking. "He wasn't expecting it. It is the difference between playing with your foe as the two of you do and giving them false hope as I did. I only do so when it suits my purposes."

Blaise didn't look too convinced. "Yeah, and you also suffer from a lack of fun, too, with all your serious-all-the-time attitude. It gives you anger issues. You need to relax a bit more. I'll give credit to you for tricking Prince Draco, but let's not forget how you nearly killed us along with the knights and Dean from wherever."

Harry stumbled, but quickly recovered. He had hoped they wouldn't bring that up. He sighed to himself.

"I will… concede the point. I do have some _very_ _small_ problems with my temper. But you have to understand my position." The dark-haired boy glanced back at his two companions. "I didn't grow up in a lavish mansion with no cares in the world, or on some pirate ship sailing to wherever. I grew up inside the Forbidden Mountains where I was groomed since birth to become my kingdom's ruler. The people there live harsh lives… even my mother and myself. But I have always strived to do what is right by law and by nature."

Blaise and Ronald listened with avid attention.

"That means that I _have_ _to_ be serious. To protect my mother. My upcoming baby sister. My subjects. Our borders. Our way of life." Harry clenched his fists at his sides, sending up steam and smoke with his growing anger. "But now… with the Evil Queen's curse… it could take all that away from me. Her curse could ravish our lands and borders. My subjects might not escape her dark magic. I might not be able to protect my family in time. It all just makes me furious!"

"Woah!" Ronald leapt back a bit as Harry was consumed in flame before taking calming breathes. "Watch yourself, darling! You near burned my coat."

"Sorry, sorry," Harry said while smoothing his messy hair down from where it started standing on end.

Blaise was cautious as he reached out an arm and hooked it around Harry's shoulder. It surprised him how cool to the touch Harry was so soon after being on fire. " _He really is trying to control his anger. It must be hard for dragon-people with all the fire inside them_ …"

"Listen, we're all in this together. Our mothers are all friends, so why can't we be on good terms?" Blaise asked as he looked between Harry and Ronald. Harry still seemed a little surprised that Blaise was being nice to him. "I mean, sure you have anger issues and Ronnie-boy here is a bit of a snob—"

"Don't call me Ronnie-boy, seaweed twerp. I'll have no one shortening my great name. I am Ronald de Vil." Ronald snapped with no heat.

"But I'm not perfect either. I don't really know anything about land, and I do tend to be a bit careless." Blaise shrugged before slinging his other arm around Ronald's shoulder, who looked disgusted for a second before simply sighing and letting it happen.

"You better not have this coat smelling like sea food…" the salt-and-pepper haired boy muttered, making Harry snort with laughter.

"I'm sure you'd offend Blaise talking like that." Harry said with a smirk. "After all, his cousins might be your next meal."

"Oh, ha ha…" Blaise rolled his eyes. "Just so you know, I have more than a few ' _cousins'_ that could swallow the two of you whole."

"Back onto more dreadful topics than being eaten by sushi," Ronald pulled a face as they continued their trek. "What about Prince Blonde and his mother, the Evil Queen?"

"Yeah…" Blaise blinked as it slowly dawned on him, "Once they find out they have some sort of fake crystal… won't they come after us?"

"By which time we will be more than prepared." Harry said with a hard expression on his face. "No one comes for my family without a fight. And they don't _live_ to tell about it."

Ronald and Blaise smiled darkly. "Oh, I like that. Look it, Blaise. We might have to change our plans of making Harry into a lovely pair of dragonhide boots."

Blaise simply shrugged. "Oh well… Maybe next time…"

Ronald readjusted his fur coat as his white ferrets entangled each other and went flat into a scarf around his neck. "It seems we're all in good hands then."

Blaise nodded as he took Harry and Ronald by the shoulders and strolled through the pouring rain with them. "Yeah, let's get back before my mother starts to worry. I'd hate to see how Flotsam and Jetsam fair on dry land. If you think I'm bad at it, you haven't seen anything yet, mates."

* * *

 **A/N: So, now we get a better picture of how each child perceives their family dynamic. Harry sees his family as his equals, but knows that he will one day be the leader of that family. He wants to protect and cherish his family, allowing nothing and no one to get in the way of that.**

 **Ron sees his mother as his best friend, probably the only person he respects and loves. He shares everything with her, but still sees her as his :boss" also. He will do as he is told and not question his mother too much when she sends him forth to complete her schemes. To their family, the phrase "Mother Knows Best" is practically a family moto.**

 **Blaise sees his mom as his best friend, and she views him as the same. They want to protect each other from all the world. There are no secrets between them. Everything she knows, she tells him. Everything he learns, he shares with her. Nothing comes between them.**

 **Draco is idolizes his mother, and she loves him dearly, but keeps him at a distance. She doesn't want to be her own mother, so it strains their relationship. She uses Draco a lot, but feels bad about it most of the time. Regina wants him to succeed, but also wants to keep him under her forever because she fears that he'll leave her one day all alone. Or worse, push her through a mirror like she did her own mother.**

 **So, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Want to see it reduced to child's strength by Dean of Camelot?**

 **Leave a REVIEW and let me know!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


	10. Prince vs Prince! Rage Against Pride!

**A/N: So... I've been busy. I am living my dream of working as a teacher in a school now. I love it!**

 **Also, over the past year trying to get a grasp on 3D programs like _Blender_ and _MMD_ so I can make these stories into 3D comics. i would really love to make these stories I write into 3D comics or even small animations, but I just don't have the time or focus to fully devote myself to it. That is why I haven't been releasing most if any of the chapters I've been writing. Because I want to backpedal and make the ones I've released so far into 3D comics on _DeviantArt_ or another website for displaying it. Maybe _Tumblr._ I don't know.**

 **This is for ALL of my stories. Every... Single... One... Especially one like this one with the Once Upon A Time vibe.**

 **Anyways, that's why I've been "away". If you have any advice or want to help me with this project, please feel free to message me, PM me, or leave it in a REVIEW.**

 **Hope everyone enjoys the chapter!**

 **Now enough of this crap! On with the show!**

 **Chapter 10: Prince vs. Prince! Harry's Rage Against Draco's Pride!**

* * *

Draco was unusually smug as he appeared in his bed chambers in front the Magic Mirror. The floating head raised an eyebrow to the prince's good mood.

"Well now, you seem happy… Who have you maimed?" Sidney, the name of the man in the magic mirror, asked of the prince.

"No one today, Mirror." Draco answered with the same smirk as a boy who had gotten away with stealing a cookie.

"Good," Sidney sighed, "No need to alert the guards to clean up a mess somewhere. And you even returned before your mother noticed your absence."

This made Draco scowl. "As if she'd notice anything with all her obsession in casting her stupid little curse. It's been days now, and she hasn't included me in any of this scheme!"

"That is because it is not for the faint of heart, young prince." Sidney shook his floating head sadly. "Your mother's pain and anger run deep. Deeper than she'll probably ever let you know. It started with her mother, and now she is making the same mistakes with you as her son."

Draco didn't understand what the mirror was talking about, especially since he had never heard mention of his grandmother, Cora Mills, aside from the fact that whenever he asked about her, his mother would snap that they don't speak of "that woman" and never will.

Sidney looked off to one side in memory. "I remember the day you arrived in this world… how Regina held you in her arms… The way Snow White gazed over you… Like all the love in the world sprang forth from them to you… Oh, what happened to those few happy years?"

"I have no earthly idea what you are rambling on about, Mirror." Draco turned from him and started pacing the floor. "My only concern is how to present myself to my queen-mother. Where is she at present?"

"She is visiting her dear friend, Mistress of All Evil, Empress of the Forbidden Mountains, the great and powerful Maleficent." Sidney said with a flourish of his head. Then he looked pained. "I would suggest very strongly to remain here until she returns. Maleficent will not be pleased to the reason for Regina's visit, and things could be going very badly. Your presence would only make things innumerably worse."

"I've always heard of the woman, but I've never met her." Draco tapped at his chin softly. "I think I might have met a child or relative of hers a while ago. He seemed to breathe flame and dress as I've learned people from the Forbidden Mountains do."

Sidney's face drained of color and his eyes became hollow holes. He was no longer Sidney Glass, but now solely the Magic Mirror. " _Your encounter with Prince Harry was most unexpected. Your living afterward has left him vexed. Son to Maleficent, he has been for ten autumns past. Much like you to your mother in ten years last. What you have stolen is merely a bobble, but attempting theft again will your heart hobbled_."

Draco's eyes narrowed halfway through the Magic Mirror's foreboding trance. The Mirror gasped as it returned to a fully fleshed face. It was once again Sidney Glass.

"You tried to steal something from the son of Maleficent?" Sidney at Draco as though he were insane.

"Tried nothing. I succeed!" Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystal orb. "See with your own eyes, Mirror!"

Sidney's face zoomed to the surface of the mirror in which he was trapped. "What is that?"

Draco looked excited and greedy. "This is the Crystal Atlas!" the boy stroked the glass orb like a loving pet. "I overheard my mother and Rumplestiltskin discuss the few ways someone could escape the dark curse she was casting. He was telling her how it was lost in some place he couldn't get to. A place only brave and noble knights could access in the lands northwest of Bald Mountain. I researched the area and any mention of such places, and found in our grand library that the Hall of Valor appears there to the chivalrous and gallant."

"Yes, well, Draco—" Sidney started, but was interrupted as the prince continued on as though he had not spoken up.

"I was walking around for hours as an old beggar trying to lure knights to my false cries for help, but no one appeared." Draco smiled cruelly. "Then, to my great surprise, I happen upon a trio of boys around my own age should appear. I was curious, especially when they walked right past me without a second glance as I begged at their feet in my old man appearance. Normal children are much kinder than I, so I knew they had to be up to something. I followed them invisibly for a while before the son of Maleficent left their group and the other two ventured onward. They subdued three knights by pretending to be lost children chased by a monster, but in reality, the monster was controlled by them. They led the bound knights into a clearing which was nestled in the middle of a forest."

"That's all good, my prince, however—"

"So then a great shadow fell over the clearing, and there appeared Maleficent's son. I suppose now that he must be a dragon with his fire-breathing and all, but it hadn't occurred to me then." Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Anyway, that's when they started telling the knights what was to become of them and how they would open the door to the Hall of Valor. The knights broke free, and one started praying. The trio of boys fought the knights, but then appeared a new challenge for them in the form of Dean of Camelot. I've never heard of any such place as Camelot, but who cares. It's not important. The boys fought Dean, but he proved very smart and crafty. He weakened their powers before using the environment against them. All but the son of Maleficent. His power proved to great to bind to simple child's tricks. He summoned a great ball of energy the size of a small kingdom in his anger. Then when his friends reminded him that they'd all be destroyed except him, he relented. I don't know why. It was curious. Why would you not destroy your enemies, even at the price of your allies?"

Draco turned back to the mirror with an inquisitive look.

Sidney shook his head sadly. "Just because you _can_ , doesn't mean that you _should_. And just because it is a tactic your mother likes to employ in her armies, doesn't make it the _right_ tactic to use. The child of Maleficent must have seen that even at his young age. Not a lesson I would have pegged Maleficent to teach…" Sidney shrugged nonexistent shoulder, "But I suppose even she would be changed by motherhood."

Draco pursed his lips. "But then he allowed his enemies to escape with their lives. He told them to flee. Who in their right mind would do such a thing as to let live such an obvious threat to their power?"

"Sometimes it's the better of outcomes." Sidney spoke wisely. "Who knows? They might need each other in the future, and then this Dean of Camelot would be in debt to the boy."

"Harry… You said it in your trance, and I'm sure I heard his name called a time or two." Draco tapped at his chin. "Harry. Harry. Harry." He tasted the name on his tongue and found it lacking. "Ugh, what a dreadfully peasant-sounding name. Just like Snow and Charming."

Sidney rolled his eyes. "As you say, my prince."

Draco waved it all aside dismissively. "He was weak then. It was foolish of him to let go. Such weakness will be his downfall. He and his two friends entered the Hall of Valor, and returned with the Crystal Atlas… which I promptly snatched from Harry's hand before teleporting as far away as I could. It took another few hours just to make it back into our borders here."

"Speaking of the Crystal Atlas—"

"It's rather plain-looking, right?" Draco hefted the ball through the air a few times, catching it repeatedly. "I was expecting more from some legendary object that Rumplestiltskin made passing mention of. He said it was beyond his and my mother's reach, and yet here I stand with it. Me. Prince Draco. The Evil Prince."

Sidney felt like his eyes would fall out if he rolled them any harder. " _That_ is _not_ the Crystal Atlas." He said firmly.

Draco did a double take. "What?"

Sidney gestured to the orb Draco held using his eyes. "That bobble in your hand is little more than a decoration of heat blown sand turned glass. It is not the Crystal Atlas. Had you been paying attention, you would have realized that it holds no magic whatsoever."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What?" he snapped firmly.

Sidney continued rather casually. "I believe the young son of Maleficent… Harry, as you called him… has tricked you into stealing a fake when you thought his guard was down. A simple trick, but effective, I suppose."

Draco's face was filled with fury and he saw red. "WHAT!"

Sidney gave him a deadpan look, so used to Regina's anger that Draco's own temper did not perturb him in the slightest. "A good thing too. Your mother would be murderous to discover you had ventured so far from the safety of our lands only to return with a trinket."

That snapped Draco out of his rage. His mother could not find out about his failure. Not only would she be angry that he put himself in danger, but that he had failed so spectacularly as well. He'd lock him in his tower for a century or more!

He had to fix this embarrassment quickly.

"Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest place. Through wind and darkness, I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy true face!" Draco intoned with his arms folded neatly over each other in front of Sidney, who gasped as Draco turned him slave to his will. A chilling wind swept through the bedroom, and the sound of thunder echoed off the walls as lightning flashed in the mirror's reflection. With a burst of flame and slow turn, Sidney was forcefully transformed into the ghastly green mask of the Magic Mirror.

" _ **What would thus know, my prince**_?" he droned in monotone as what little free will he possessed had been stripped from him. This was not like his prophecies and random insights that he gave without conscious thought. Everything he was now… was the Magic Mirror on the Wall.

"Magic mirror on the wall, where hides the coward who tricked me with this glass ball?" Draco sneered as the haunting green mask of the Magic Mirror could be seen through a screen of thin smoke rising within the mirror itself.

" _ **No coward is this boy, who sits within the mountains forbidden**_." The magic mirror rippled as it revealed the fortress of Maleficent before zooming in through its exterior to show the bed chambers of Harry. " _ **Dark is his power, potential still very must hidden. Infamous is his mother, but his power outshines her own. Take heed to this warning, if you should approach their home**_."

"What, mirror? Speak!" Draco was growing impatient as he watched Harry ready himself for something through the mirror.

He had appeared without a shirt, and looked very toned for a boy their age. There were a couple of scars, and as Draco looked away from them he noticed Harry's hair was damp and dripping wet. Meaning the dragon boy was fresh from a bath.

Draco's fist clenched around the crystal orb. This fool was bathing and relaxing while Draco was humiliated.

How dare he?!

" _ **Hair dark as ebony. Skin a peachy tan. Eyes like gems of emerald. Strength as great as man. If foe you make him, only ruin will follow. But go you must to confront him. Or else your heart will hollow**_."

Draco narrowed his eyes and turned the crystal ball in his hand a few times. He began to pace the floor in front of the magic mirror, thinking hard of his next move.

First the mirror had said that if he went his heart would be hobbled, but now it was saying that if he didn't go his heart would be hollow. That made no sense.

"Ugh, this is insanity." Draco snapped before turning back to the mirror. "Begone, slave in the magic mirror. Your purpose you have outlast. Now return to my eye, friend Sidney Glass."

The green mask in the mirror bowed once before the smoke obscured it from view. With another burst of flames, Sidney returned in a gasp, glaring at Draco.

"That was _not_ a very kind thing to do, young prince." He said sternly, but Draco paid him little mind as he went over to his bookshelf and began turning through the pages of a spellbook. "When you do that… when your mother does it… I don't go to a very happy place. It is terrible. I hate it. If you need something from me, simply _ask_. I cannot lie to you, even if I wanted. I am your humble servant, always and forever."

"Humble servants talk less, Mirror." Draco drawled while snapping his book closed and replacing it back on the shelf. "Now then, if you wish to prove yourself a faithful servant, I do have a question for you."

"You have only to speak, my prince, and I will answer." Sidney's floating head bowed to him.

"What is the difference… between hobbled and hollowed… in terms of the heart?" Draco asked, seeming to puzzle out the question as he spoke.

Sidney looked perplexed by the question, but slowly came to an understanding as Draco watched his face.

"There is… much to your question. Probably more than you realize. Earlier I said in prophecy that your heart would be hobbled by going to confront Harry. That means that by the end of it all, you would be sad or hurt as far as your heart is concerned. However, as you turned me against my will into The Mirror, it said that your heart would be hollow without going. That means you have to go, or else you would be missing out on something that your heart would need to be complete; for better or worse."

"What does that even mean?" Draco's stormy grey eyes glared right into Sidney's own earthy brown orbs.

"It means that Harry could be the cause of both, or only one. He could be the indirect means to both prophecies coming true. Or he is merely a bystander to your fate. Anything and everything is subjective."

"This is pointless." Draco declared while turning on heel, "I'm going to retrieve the Crystal Atlas."

"Be careful." Sidney warned while wincing. "And don't let your mother find out. And don't let her know _I_ had anything to do with this insanity!"

* * *

When Harry arrived home to his dark castle, he found his mother in a fit of rage.

And sorrow.

Harry quickly ducked his head to the side as flames hotter than the sun lashed at the spot he appeared. Thankfully their castle was magically protected, so nothing ever received any more than a few soot marks and scorch burns. His mother howled like a wounded animal, and Harry hurried to her side. He held her tight in his arms as she cried out in fury. His arms burned, but Harry didn't care as heat waves lashed at his skin. His mother was in pain, and she needed him.

"Mother, calm yourself!" Harry shouted, raising his own dragon fire in his body. It made him uncomfortable, but it was the only option before he was burned to a crisp himself.

It took an hour before her anguished fury cooled. By then it was only dry sobs as Harry soothed her, rubbing circles into her back. They were both in the middle of the floor, none of their furniture had survived the brunt of her wrath.

"Those nasty little good-doers turned me away!" Maleficent choked. "Snow White turned me away! I needed her help, and she dared to turn her back on me! Me! Mistress of All Evil!"

"Mother, what are you talking about?" Harry asked, wide eyes searching her face for any clue.

Maleficent stood with her son helping her to her feet. She began to slowly pace the room, arms holding herself tight as if keeping herself together merely through their presence.

"Snow White. And her precious Prince Charming." Maleficent spat with more hatred she had mustered in the last decade. It was one thing to be snubbed by Phillip and humiliated by Briar Rose, but this… "It was inconceivable!"

"What was, mother?" Harry asked, stepping closer to his frantic parent. "What did they do?"

Maleficent took a deep breath to calm her rage and sorrow. The ire inside her heart threatened just below the surface. "While you boys were off obtaining the Crystal Atlas, as your mothers we went to secure answers about the future and a protection even the Map of Worlds cannot guarantee. We sought out the Tree of Knowledge, but I knew we needed two of the greatest heroes to even get near it."

She glared at the floor, fists clenching around her. "Because everything favors those pitiful foolish heroes! ARGH!"

Harry didn't even bother to shield himself from the heat wave that washed over him like the tide. He had never felt his mother's fury, but it was scorching in its passion.

"Teaming up with them was our only option, but near the end of our journey those two wretched rats decided to skip out on us and approach the tree on their own."

Harry's eyes narrowed, "No."

Maleficent nodded, but there was a bit of a smirk on her face "Yes, but they got what they deserved. The tree rejected them… all because their baby-to-be has the potential for great darkness."

The speed at which Harry's jaw dropped was astonishing.

"Close your mouth, dear, because they still rejected our help," Maleficent looked to be holding back another lash of anger as she continued, "and even when I privately approached Snow White about protecting little Lily… my precious golden egg child… Not me, not you, not anything or anyone else but a _child yet born…_ She denied me! The heartless wench! She denied my child a chance at life! My child! All because I am a villain!"

"Mother!" Harry caught her as she wailed in anguish and another wave of oppressive heat hit him smack in the face with her grief. Her agony. Her fury and rage. "Please mother, calm yourself. We don't need them."

"I hate them!" Maleficent screamed, a column of flame escaping her mouth to scorch the ceiling.

"We _don't_ _need_ them. We have the Crystal Atlas. We have _each_ _other_! We will survive. _All of us_. You, me, _and_ baby Lily." Harry took his mother's face in his hands with all his strength, forcing her to meet his eyes. "And we _will_ survive. And I promise you… when we do survive… we will see Snow White and her wretched family _suffer_ for this. Her, Prince Charming, their baby, the Evil Queen, Prince Draco. _All of them_!"

The tears on Maleficent's face were steaming hot as Harry wiped them away, once again helping his mother to her feet. She held onto him tightly, hugging him as though they might never see each other again.

"What did I do… to have such a wonderful child to call my own?" Maleficent said softly as she pulled back only enough to look Harry in the face.

"You opened your dark heart and home," Harry replied, getting another strong embrace from his mother.

"I'm going to prepare for the use of the Crystal Atlas," she said as she slowly pulled away from her son. "I might be in a fit through the night, but I will do what must be done. You, young man, need to rest for the night. I don't want to see dragon hide or raven hair of you until the dawn. You need your rest as a growing boy."

"I will be fine, mother." Harry assured, but then received a look from Maleficent that brokered no argument. He sighed and started for the door. "If you need me for anything at all, simply send a servant for me."

"Of course, dear. Sweet nightmares." Maleficent kissed his forehead once before allowing him out of her sight.

"Death to all good dreams," Harry replied as he left his mother's presence and went up to his dark tower.

* * *

Taking a bath was hard for a dragon. The water always bubbled and boiled if you didn't actively calm yourself to the point of being absent-minded. Then there was the constant sheen of steam that covered mirrors if you remained in the bath for even a second too long. The servants didn't mind it all much, but Harry found it a constant annoyance as he walked out the bath and through a misty fog of water vapor in a flame-proof magical towel. Finding his clothes was always a chore as his tower filled with a smokescreen of water mist. He hated opening the windows even more than the fog because it would leave him cold for hours with the amount of drafty winds that blew through the forbidden mountains.

For them being dragons, their territory was unusually cold all year around.

Putting on his bed pants, Harry struggled to find his shirt in the steamy fog.

"Let me help you," a voice called from near the window, and a chilling gust of wind swept through Harry's room before he could even react.

Fist clenched as they lit themselves on fire, Harry saw it was only the young Prince Draco sneering at him, crystal bobble still in hand. Seeing this, Harry relaxed himself and smirked, putting the flames of his fists out with a stray thought.

"Prince Draco," Harry called his name casually like an old friend. It had the desired effect of making the prince even angrier. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Draco calmed himself by breathing deep and then smiled tightly. "Oh, I was just in the area. How are you, Prince Harry?"

"Just fine. And yourself, dear Prince?"

"I'm doing fine. Thank you."

Harry smiled sharply. "Are you? If I were you, I'd be absolutely furious. To have come so far, only to be outwitted by a traveler's trinket. I'd want to see my enemy skinned alive."

Draco shivered. Whether it was from rage, excitement, or disgust was hard to tell even for him. "It did come to mind, but I'm feeling unusually nice today. Hand over the Crystal Atlas, and I'll let you live."

Harry threw his head back with a bark of laughter. "Let me live. My, we certainly think much of ourselves, don't we?"

Draco scowled and took a threatening step forward with his hands appearing to give off a icy mist. "I'm serious. Give me the crystal!"

Harry dropped the act of good cheer, his masterful glare making Draco flinch for only a split second. "And so am I, oh prince. Leave! And never darken my castle again. I'll give _you_ the opportunity to live."

Draco reacted fast to the guards who burst through the door. Three of them, swords already drawn. He froze them in place with his ice spell on pure instinct before making a wall of earth protect him from the onslaught of flames that poured from Harry's mouth.

Harry threw his hands over head with a clap, and a wave of darkness encompassed the room to where no light could be seen. It was as if Draco had suddenly found himself in the deep reaches of some far-flung cave.

Harry's wicked laughter echoed in every direction. Finally, Draco gave up on standing around in the darkness and created a fireball. Then another. Then three more, and had them scatter to every corner of the dark tower as one hung over his own head like a lantern.

"You should not have come here, Draco." Harry's voice came from behind, but when Draco turned there was nothing there. All the furnishing. All the things in the room had disappeared.

Were they even still in Harry's bed chambers, or were they in a completely different space?

Draco's hand shook as he created an offensive fireball. It shook with anger and elation, but never fear.

"I will have that crystal one way or another, Harry." Malfoy spat with great resentment, "Surrender it to me, or else end up like all others who oppose me. Imprisoned in my dungeons for the rest of your miserable existence. And you can be sure I will may your existence the _very_ _definition_ of miserable."

"Your mother threatens all with her dark curse, and you come here to seek the only way of escaping it. Well then, you have made your choice. You have elected to die a very painful death!"

Draco was surprised by the growl of Harry's voice. The blond prince wavered for a moment, but then gripped his fireball all more tightly as he took another step forward in the darkness, this time completely cemented in his stance.

"Why hide in the dark if you are so sure of my demise? Scared, Harry?" Malfoy crowed, his face now twisted into a cruel smile.

"You wish," Harry said softly, then Draco saw something rise from the darkness.

Mirrors. Mirrors all around him.

"I hear your family enjoy mirrors. Vanity seems to be a trait for you all. Even Snow White prizes herself as the fairest of them all. How cute."

Draco turned sharply to his right, "Because we are magnificent!"

Draco moved faster than Harry could have believed. His fireball went screaming right at him, and for a split second Harry thought that he had been caught completely off-guard by the sudden attack. He expected himself to crumple, unconscious, but the swiftness of his hand catching it was such that he and the blond prince were both thrown off balance.

Seeing that Prince Draco had started the battle, the raven-haired sorcerer decided that he would end it just as quickly. With a twist of his hand, the fireball grew in size before it flew out at his adversary. Draco was forced back a little to drive the flames away from himself, driving them at the nearest mirror that shattered on impact.

Harry was not done though as the remaining fires encircle Draco like a lasso.

Draco pulled back both his hands and pushed the flames outward, then brought his arms back in as the fire gathered and blackened until it was no longer there, but in its place a great black wolfhound growled and snarled in Harry's direction. The beast circled Draco protectively while the blond prince smirked.

"Kill him." He ordered, and the beast lunged for Harry's throat.

Harry sneered as he wasted no time in blasting the beast into smoke, which on his command re-formed and solidified in seconds to become a swarm of bats.

Draco cursed as the bats raced at him before he mustered enough power to freeze them in mid-flight with a cold spell. Then he gathered energy in one hand with a twist of his wrist. The bats convulsed three times before turning inanimate. They straightened and colored silver, becoming pursuing daggers that made an abrupt about-face, leveling themselves at Harry.

Harry made circles in the air in front of him as the daggers dove for any part of his flesh they could aim at. Hitting the air where he was making the circles caused the daggers to turn to dormice that scattered in every direction in the darkness never to be seen again.

"Not so fast, Eye of Newt!" Draco snarled, twitching his hand at a mirror next to the emerald-eyed boy where it warped to become a statue of reflection. Like a lone sentry, the statue grabbed Harry fast, and he gasped.

Then in a whirl of emerald flames he disappeared with a struggle to get free of the crushing arms.

Draco cast his gaze left and right, trying hard to predict where the dragon boy would appear next. But then he gasped himself as he found his mirror statue turning against him. It turned jerkily and went flying back toward him. Draco banished it to the darkness where somewhere beyond his sight it smashed against a wall and shattered into a heap of pieces.

"What's wrong, Harry dear?" Draco called out in a sneering tone, "You hide again just as we were having such fun! And here I was thinking you were out for blood."

"Not yours, Draco. Not yet." Harry called back, appearing from the shadows as easily as one did from a pool of water. He watched as the prince's face twisted into barely restrained fury.

Whatever spell it was that fired from Draco's hands, Harry used a piece of shattered mirror to deflect it to the ceiling, watching with some shock as it exploded and took off a chunk of the ceiling with a flare of purple embers from the spell's aftermath.

Harry whirled his hands overhead, and the pieces of broken mirror followed as they pointed their edges at the blond prince.

"First I want your precious sister, Snow White." Harry said as he fired off one shard of the mirror. Draco deflected it masterfully.

"Then I want to watch as Prince Charming is beheaded while admiring her dead corpse." Another two shards, another block.

"Only then will I come for you, oh prince. I will make your death feel as if it was eternity in length." Three shards this time, and Draco was beginning to sweat from concentration as each time Harry fired off pieces they shot off faster and faster.

"And your mother will see it all as I hang her from the tallest tower in all the lands!" Harry began to fire off shards indiscriminately. Draco threw up his arms, using a blunt force of magic to shield himself from injury. "Right before I end her miserable life for daring to tear apart my family!"

"Shut up!" Draco shouted, and the open air between him and Harry became charged with the arcane as Harry felt water at his bare feet.

Draco's hands went through one, long, fluid motion as water began to be pulled from the air around them and off their sweaty foreheads. The raven-haired prince only had enough time to gasp in shock as water jerked and slushed up toward him. The water pooled together as it advanced in and around the young sorcerer, rising up and covering him like a cocoon of molten glass.

"You can have Snow White and Prince Charming when my mother finishes with them. But no one in this life or the next will touch _my_ mother!" Draco yelled, "Certainly not you! And you certainly will not get the better of me, you overgrown lizard!"

For a few seconds Harry was visible only as a dark, rippling, faceless figure, shimmering and indistinct where his blond opponent held him trapped. He was clearly struggling to throw off the suffocating mass.

Then he burst free like a wild torrent of air had been let loose from a flaming cannon in all directions. The detonation threw Draco back and the water fell in a great splashing crash out onto the floor, slopping wildly at the walls and soaking Draco's shoes.

Light had returned to the room at last as the darkness receded into the corners as if fleeing Draco's might. But the sight before him gave the young prince pause in celebrating his victory.

Harry was indeed drenched from head to toe, his raven hair no longer messy, but instead falling wet and clingy to his face. His bare skin was steaming as though fire brewed beneath every muscle, and when the young dragon glared up intensely with one lone emerald eye, Draco knew true fear to pierce his heart.

There were no words as Harry threw out a single hand and held it as though gripping a mug. Draco felt instantly as though that hand were around his throat, but the other boy was clearly across the room.

"Is this what you so desired, oh prince," Harry seethed quietly as he conjured the Crystal Atlas to his free hand. Draco choked, but glared coldly into Harry's eyes while doing everything to alleviate the pressure around his neck. "Is this not what you came to die for?"

"I will… e-end you… dragon!" Draco spat through clenched teeth, even as his face went red.

"No," Harry sneered, "but you will certainly die trying."

Draco stopped scrambling for his throat and let his hands clench into fists at his sides. Harry had taken it to mean the boy was giving up and accepting the inevitable.

But just as he was about to apply more pressure—enough that Draco would be unconscious and prisoner to his castle—the blond's fingers shot from his palms and the mirrors all around them exploded in a shower of lights.

"What the—?" Harry was forced to let go of his magical grip on Draco's neck when the next second all the broken pieces rose up only an inch off the ground and shot at him from all directions all at once.

In a great column of green flames surrounding him like a message from hell, Harry reduced the broken glass to ashes.

The ground at Harry's feet shook and warbled with audible sound, and Harry felt himself stuck in mud before he realized that Prince Draco had somehow trapped the lower half of his body within the floor like a man in quicksand.

"Not so smug now, are we, oh Prince?" Draco had vanished the water from the room while his other hand went through his once perfectly styled hair. But it was no longer that way. Now, even reaping it back did not get it to stay tame. His hair looked much like Harry's own wild and untidy bangs, but the blond still somehow managed to make his hair look much more controlled when Harry gave it another glance.

Draco walked over and grabbed the Crystal Atlas, but Harry had a death grip on it.

"We both know you'll die before you pry this from my hands, Draco." Again, Harry irked him by cooing his first name with mocking sweetness.

With a snap of his fingers, Harry began to slowly rise from the quicksand like a vengeful ghost. He and Draco locked eyes, glaring as emerald green clashed against stormy grey. The hole in the floor beneath his feet quickly filled and solidified.

"There is nothing I hate more than a fool who can't take the hint to give up and die out when given the chance. No, instead boorish imbeciles like you decide to go charging headlong through my patience." The blond prince snarled with a tight grip on crystal orb.

"Determination and hellish fury are standard traits for my family, Draco," Harry replied plainly, "So is our hellish retribution."

"I would take your heart if I thought it was worth a damn." Draco sneered.

"Then you would find yourself burned worst than all the fireballs you could ever conjure."

"Lizard."

"Brat."

"You overgrown garden gecko!"

"You spoiled little egotistical Momma's boy!"

"How dare you!"

"How dare _you!"_

The two devolved to name-calling as they tried to jerk the Crystal Atlas from the hand of the other. With them being so close to once another, it was dangerous to use any manner of spell or curse when it could easily be deflected back with no time to counter their own magic. Yet, in their hand the crystal began to give off a warm glow of white. At first they didn't even notice it, so busy were the two young dark princes in their bickering that they were quite shocked to find it almost engulfing them once they did take notice.

The white light blinded them for a moment, and blinking away the spots in their vision found the two staring around themselves in another castle. This one brightly lit by torches on the walls as the staircases around them moved and changed of their own volition.

" _What in the name of Morgana_ …?" Draco asked as he turned around, only to see that the paints hung along the walls were moving themselves as if alive.

" _This is… It cannot be_ …" Harry muttered as from the top of the only non-moving staircase appeared an ancient wizard with long silver hair and an equally long beard. He wore multi-colored robes of shimmering purples and glittering blues. He looked down at Harry and Draco before giving them an amused wink.

The orb between them glowed again in the same blinding white light before they found themselves returned to Harry's bed chambers.

Harry blinked the spots out of his eyes before glaring at Draco. With a definitive tug, he snatched the Crystal Atlas back into his lone grasp. Draco was still shaking his head to right himself, but after a second he realized what had happened.

"What… What sorcery was that?" Draco asked, backing away from Harry a little. "You tricked me! What was that? What did you make me see just then?"

"I have no more time for you…" Harry said, looking between Draco and the Crystal Atlas. "I don't even know if what we saw was real or not. Begone from here. There is much I have to ponder."

"I'm not leaving until—!"

"I said _BEGONE_!" Harry thundered, and forced his magic around Draco, making the boy turn on the spot where the blond prince disappeared in a whirl of purple smoke.

With little thought and his mind racing, Harry didn't even bother to fix his room back to its clean state. He dropped to the floor at the foot of his bed, sitting with his back on it while gazing down into the Crystal Atlas.

The door to his room burst open five minutes later, and Harry became aware of two things. One, his guards were dead from one attack or another as they were no longer around, and thus had probably been killed by either him or Prince Draco in silenced agony.

And two, his mother was now in his doorway with a solemn look on her face.

"Regina came to the castle, and… she has the Dark Curse. There is no more time, my son. We must prepare with all haste." Were her only words as Harry looked up at her in silence.

They stared into each other's eyes, both looking drained of mental and physical energy. Harry rose in silence to his feet, summoning his attire to appear on his body as he followed his mother out of his room and down to their magical chambers.

Even as he helped his mother work, he could not keep his mind off what he and Draco had seen in the crystal orb. Was it real? Who was the old man in colorful robes?

Sadly, there was no time… No time for questions. No time for answers. No time for anything.

* * *

 **A/N: As far as ranking the children with magical ability, skill, and deadliness, I would put it like this:**

 **Harry and Dean of Camelot are practically equal, but Harry is far more powerful in pure magic while Dean is far more skilled using spells.**

 **Draco is only a step behind Harry and Dean as he is equally skilled and powerful.**

 **Blaise is a shade lower than Draco, but a step above Ronald de Vil. Ronald uses magic for more mundane and sneaky things rather than for battle or to defeat his enemies. Ronald relies on brains and cunning more so than anything magic can offer him. He gets this deceptive attitude from his mother.**

 **So what do you think about the chapter? Do you love it? Hate it? Want to hang it from the tallest tower in all the lands?**

 **Leave a REVIEW and let me know!**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya!**


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